atprm
02-19-2009, 02:27 PM
Karl Rove Grades President Obama
February 19, 2009 12:10 PM
Karl Rove is sizing up Barack Obama. We have heard from Dick Cheney. He was sort of, well, positive about the job the new President is doing. But that was back in the early days, before the new administration rolled back certain tenants of the Bush years (dealing with terror suspects) and before the massive stimulus packages championed by Obama. Now we hear from Karl Rove.
In the Wall Street Journal this morning Bush's longtime political guru graded the new team. The headline? Obama is winging it. Rove, writing about the hurry up offense deployed by the new administration says "this fast start can't overcome a growing sense the administration is winging it on issues large and small."
Apg_rove_080522_main Rove's first piece of evidence? The bungled vetting process of some key cabinet members from Bill Richardson to Tim Geithner to Tom Daschle.
But then Rove turns to the way in which Obama sold the stimulus, a massive package of spending and tax cuts aimed at breathing life into the ailing economy. "Team Obama was winging it when it declared the stimulus would "save or create" 2.5 million, then three million, then 3.7 million, and then four million new jobs. These were arbitrary and erratic numbers, and they knew there's no way to count "saved" jobs," he writes.
Rove continues: "Team Obama has been living off its campaign reputation for planning and execution. That reputation is now frayed, and all the bumbling and unforced errors will have an impact. Such things don't go unnoticed on Capitol Hill or in foreign capitals."
February 19, 2009 12:10 PM
Karl Rove is sizing up Barack Obama. We have heard from Dick Cheney. He was sort of, well, positive about the job the new President is doing. But that was back in the early days, before the new administration rolled back certain tenants of the Bush years (dealing with terror suspects) and before the massive stimulus packages championed by Obama. Now we hear from Karl Rove.
In the Wall Street Journal this morning Bush's longtime political guru graded the new team. The headline? Obama is winging it. Rove, writing about the hurry up offense deployed by the new administration says "this fast start can't overcome a growing sense the administration is winging it on issues large and small."
Apg_rove_080522_main Rove's first piece of evidence? The bungled vetting process of some key cabinet members from Bill Richardson to Tim Geithner to Tom Daschle.
But then Rove turns to the way in which Obama sold the stimulus, a massive package of spending and tax cuts aimed at breathing life into the ailing economy. "Team Obama was winging it when it declared the stimulus would "save or create" 2.5 million, then three million, then 3.7 million, and then four million new jobs. These were arbitrary and erratic numbers, and they knew there's no way to count "saved" jobs," he writes.
Rove continues: "Team Obama has been living off its campaign reputation for planning and execution. That reputation is now frayed, and all the bumbling and unforced errors will have an impact. Such things don't go unnoticed on Capitol Hill or in foreign capitals."