WP, Froomkin: Rove's Risky Embrace of the Iraq War

[DeepModem Mom]

Rove's Risky Embrace
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Thursday, June 22, 2006

....Rove is betting that he can reframe the war in Iraq as a battle between courageous Republicans and pusillanimous Democrats.

The stakes: Congress. (And subpoena power.)

Rove believes that this strength vs. weakness rhetorical construct, combined with continued attacks on the media, will be enough to counterbalance whatever negative news about the actual war continues to emerge between now and the mid-term elections.

The actual war remains one in which people die every day, sometimes in the most gruesome ways, for reasons that aren't entirely clear. It's a war that according to the polls the public now thinks was a mistake, feels it was misled into supporting, and would like to see ending on some sort of timetable. It's a war that has raised questions about American devotion to human rights. It's a war we may not be able to win....

***

And although his plan appears highly susceptible to events on the ground in Iraq and/or assertive media coverage, betting against Rove -- thus far, at least -- has been a sucker's move....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html

[msongs]

1. seems to be working so far nt

[BayCityProgressive]

2. I agree

[GR]

3. I Don't Think It Is....

I think they may be "hugging the tarbaby" a little too closely and voters are going to take notice of the tar all over their expensive suits on election day...

This is a high risk gambit...they are stuck in a 2002 time warp...Let's do the time warp again...sort of thing...but I'm hoping/betting it won't work this time...

[Totally Committed]

4. We have got to find a way to tie this war around their necks

like the perverbial albatross. We need to allow them to be saddles with the weight of it as they go into the elections.

TC