Karl Rove - direct link from Watergate to Shrub.

More about Karl Rove. Rick Perlstein describes Rove's early political history during the Nixon administration. He also relays rumors that Rove may be slated to become Fred Thompson's campaign manager in Thompson's Presidential run. Go read it. It's short.

Then consider this story from Kevin Drum.

Josh Green's fortuitously timed Karl Rove profile in this month's Atlantic contains this mysterious anecdote:

Hurricane Katrina clearly changed the public perception of Bush's presidency. Less examined is the role Rove played in the defining moment of the administration's response: when Air Force One flew over Louisiana and Bush gazed down from on high at the wreckage without ordering his plane down. Bush advisers Matthew Dowd and Dan Bartlett wanted the president on the ground immediately, one Bush official told me, but were overruled by Rove for reasons that are still unclear: "Karl did not want the plane to land in Louisiana." Rove's political acumen seemed to be deserting him altogether.

I suspect the answer here is that Rove never truly had a lot of political acumen. He had campaign acumen. He was good at winning elections, but not at much else.
[Emphasis mine - Editor WTF-o]

I'd really agree with that last line. "...good at winning elections, but not at much else." Someone in the Republican Party needs that kind of expertise right now, and rattlesnakes don't retire. They just move from one hole to another looking for more comfort and better prey. Rove is leaving one hole, and he will be searching for another.

Rove working for a Republican candidate for President would certainly explain the timing of his departure from the White House. Besides the fact that it is clearly on his own terms (his ego demands that) it would be difficult for him to work on Thompson's campaign from the White House, and Fred needs him now. Fred has already gone through one campaign manager and the replacements are described as "temporary." The Republican caucuses and primaries start in January 2008, so Fred has only about four months to announce and become a serious candidate.

Considering the lackluster performance of all of the currently announced candidates ("None of the Above" is still leading) Thompson has an excellent opportunity to win the nomination if he gets a well-managed campaign.

Rove could not run such a campaign from the White House, and time is short. So Rove needs to act soon if he is going to. Nixon is known to have said that Thompson is "Not very smart, but friendly." That makes him Rove's type of candidate.

Since Thompson is scheduled to announce his candidacy in September, we should know soon.

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For an interesting set of views go see Digby. She has assembled some of the less hagiographic and more accurate reports on Republican saint Rove that have been recently published. Andrew Sullivan is particularly scathing.

Nixon's opinion of Fred Thompson

Nixon had a rather low opinion of Fred Thompson. Here is Noxon discussing Thompson with Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt:

Nixon expressed concern that Thompson was not "very smart."

"Not extremely so," Buzhardt agreed.

"But he's friendly," Nixon said.

"But he's friendly," Buzhardt agreed. "We are hoping, though, to work with Thompson and prepare him, if Dean does appear next week, to do a very thorough cross-examination."

Five days later, Buzhardt reported to Nixon that he had primed Thompson for the Dean cross-examination.

"I found Thompson most cooperative, feeling more Republican every day," Buzhardt said. "Uh, perfectly prepared to assist in really doing a cross-examination."

Later in the same conversation, Buzhardt said Thompson was "willing to go, you know, pretty much the distance now. And he said he realized his responsibility was going to have be as a Republican increasingly."

I knew that he was lazy and had a reputation for not doing much as a Senator, but while I never liked Nixon, I certainly wouldn't question his judgment on someone's Intelligence.

So let's see. The Republican field for the nomination for President at the monent consists of the dumb crook, Giuliani who will sooner or later self-destruct because he can't control his own statements; Romney, the good-looking wealthy guy who will take any opinion he thinks enough voters will buy to vote for him; the over-the-hill McCain who has the most sense of the bunch and no real chance of winning (probably because he DOES make so much good sense), and the lazy dumb actor who is offering himself as Reagan-lite.

My money is on Fred. He wants to replace a lazy dumb oilman and son of a President. I wonder who he will choose as his own Cheney?

Qualified Republican Presidential nominees "Well, does Fred Thompson at least smell manly?"

TRex over at Firedoglake points to Chris Matthews' comments regarding the potential Republican Presidential candidate Fred Thompson. Poor Chris. He is reduced to asking if Fred at least "smells manly." (Crooks and Liars has the video.) Give Chris credit. When there's not much to work with, Chris will work with what he has. That's what a good public relations flack does.

So Chris Matthews is reduced to trying to push Fred Thompson's Presidential candidacy based on the manliness of his smell, we viewers might well suspect that the FOX/MSNBC Republican machine (and its associated political party) has hit a spot of trouble in politics. Ya think?

Well, let's look at the situation.

The Republicans have a bench of potential nominees that even the Republicans can't stomach. Everyone is looking at Romni, Guilliani and McCain in incredulity, with Democrats saying "Thank you, God." and Republicans saying "Oh. My. God!"

When the best person on stage is an ancient crackpot Obstetrician (from the Texas District next to that of the disgraced Tom DeLay) whose claim to fame is a strong following among anti-government Libertarians and who is famous for regularly voting against the entire House of Representatives on basic things like the military budget, the phrase “Houston, we have a problem.” takes on all new level of meaning to Republicans.

But all is not lost. There is, somewhere deep in the Tennessee woods, a lobbyist, actor, one-term do-nothing ex-Senator with no significant credentials or accomplishments beyond appearing old and gruff. He is not known for standing for anything of any kind politically, and beyond being elected to the Senate during the Republican landslide of 1994, has zero political accomplishments. OK. Positive side – think “Political blank slate”. And he does have that tiny, perky little trophy wife about half his age with the cute giggle. Compared to the current potential Republican dwarfs, that's a real positive.

Of course, he makes depressed basset hounds look positively attractive, but who else is there? How do the Republican flacks repackage this utter political do-nothing vacuum into someone who desperate Republicans can vote for??

Well, how does he smell? Is it manly enough? That's what Chris Mathews is trying out. And why shouldn't he? Matthews has no reputation to protect, and he is as desperate as the rest of the Republicans to find someone or something better than the current crop of potential nominees.

If FOX and MSNBC can't somehow use the do-nothing cradle robbing ex-Senator lobbyist into a viable candidate who makes Republicans' hearts go pitty-pat -

(NO! Keep him away from Dick Cheney until after his surgery for his new defibrillator battery next Summer! What if the build-up works? Some people's hearts just can't DEAL with pitty-pat!)

- they may be forced to pull a wooden or fiberglass puppet out of the closet from somewhere. (Wooden IS preferred. It has to appeal to conservatives, after all.) Then Chris Matthews will be lauding the beauty of this new candidates' hinges while his handlers whisper urgently into his ear mike (Chris - don't talk about the strong, pretty strings!)

The lobbyist-actor Thompson with the remarkably unmanly name "Fred" is really the best they have. Expect to see the Wurlitzer to push him as hard as they can.

[ h/t to Glenn Greewald]

What we won't hear from the MSM about Fred Thompson's red pickup truck.

The story of Fred Thompson's red pickup tells who Thompson really is. But since he is a Republican, it doesn't matter that it is well-documented. The major media will NOT publish the story.

US Atty Biscupic (Wisc) saved his job by prosecuting Georgia Thompson

McKlatchy reports today that US attorney Steve Biscupic in Milwaukee, WI. was originally on the list of US attorneys to be fired for not bringing voter fraud cases against Democrats. He saved his job by prosecuting a Wisconsin civil servant, Georgia Thompson, for improperly giving a state travel contract to the Adelman Travel Group. The Adelman Travel Group is run by a politically involved family which prefers Democrats.

This prosecution is the one which the normally conservative Appeals court recently sent back to the District Court with direction to acquit because of an utter lack of evidence to support the conviction. [See Georgia Thompson was convicted by right-wing media [Friday, April 13, 2007], NY Times gets it right in an Editorial today [Monday, April 09, 2007] and Wisconsin US attorney rammed through fake corruption case of Democrat before last Governor's election [Friday, April 6, 2007].]

Just how desperate ARE the Republicans?

So far for President the Republicans are looking at

• a 71 year-old twice-divorced Senator, now trying hard to run from his previously well-earned reputation as a maverick who disdained the Republican social conservative base,
  
• a three-times divorced ex-mayor of New York City with possible mob-ties and a reputation for choosing crooks to work for him, and
  
• a Republican ex-Governor of Massachussets who is now running against his own Massachusetts constituencies and the person he convinced them he was to get elected as their governor. Oh, and did I mention his religion is Morman, not one of the best subjects to present to the social conservative fundamentalists and evangelists who make up the Republican base that is essential if he were to win the Presidency.
  

Besides their negatives, not one of them has the charisma required to pour piss out of a boot.

To top it off, Bush/Cheney have stuck the Republican Party with their voluntary war in Iraq which may not be over by 2009. Iraq isn't America's war. It's Bush's and the Republican Party's war. Even a sizeable group of the Republicans consider it a disaster that should not have been allowed to happen.

The climate for running as a Republican - well, let's just say it sure could be a lot better. An example of the problems the Republicans face is the statement just presented by Nancy Pelosi with what so far is the best sound-byte of the season: "With his veto threat, the President offers only an open-ended commitment to a war without end". (TPMCafe) This has the real virtue of being true, as well as being a powerful political soundbyte that resonates with the mood of the voters.

So how desperate are the Republicans? Desperate enough to try to get a charismatic Hollywood actor to run for the Presidency? Apparently so.

No, No. They aren't going grave robbing. Reagan is still dead. And Schwartzenegger is still not born a U.S. citizen, so he's out. A late running "American Idol" isn't likely to offer a winner old enough to run for President, and besides, what if he or she weren't Republican? Or straight?

No, what is happening now (See Law.com) is that Howard Baker is trying to convince Senators to look at Fred Thompson, currently playing Howard Branch, District Attorney, on "Law and Order." Rep. Zach Wamp has been approaching his colleagues in the House with the same proposal. Even from Hollywood this seems to be the best the Republicans can muster.

Actually Fred Thompson has a decent resume and would certainly bring more star-power to the Republican ticket than any current option, along with a lot fewer negatives. But if he asked my advice, I'd strongly suggest that he not give up his day job. It has more future.