Steve "The Bullet" Schmidt has said it best on Romney's smirking Libya statement ...

[Ian_rd]

"There are legitimate criticisms to be made but you foreclose on your ability to make them when you try to score easy political points. And the American people, when the country is attacked, whether they're a Republican or Democrat or independent, want to see leaders who have measured responses, not leaders whose first instinct is to try to score political points."

If the man who chose Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate thinks you screwed up, well, ouch.

More: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57511707/how-badly-did-romney-botch-response-to-libya-attack/

[avebury]

1. K&R nt

[BlueMTexpat]

2. The comments following the article in this url -

and it's a decent article, IMO - have been largely co-opted by Rmoney-leaning trolls and Obama-bashers.

I never go to Freeper sites, but would imagine that such comments are examples of what I would see there. Hazardous to health and sanity indeed!

[Lucy Goosey]

3. "...you foreclose on your ability to make them when you try to score easy political points"

Very well stated. I like Schmidt as a pundit - I don't agree with him often, but he has proved that he isn't a partisan hack - he is very critical of his party and of individual Republicans at times.

[Ian_rd]

5. He's like Karl Rove in that regard.

Karl Rove's grasp of politics is second to no one. When he allows himself to be an honest commentator, his opinion tends to be spot-on. But of course, when he's wearing his party boss hat, it's another story.

[Raster]

12. I disagree. rove is a legend in his own mind. His grasp of politics does not indicate....

...brilliance, but brute force. kkkarl is an over-rated, self-aggrandizing hack who earned his stripes by being the lowest of the low and doing things even the low morals rethuglicans find offensive.

I've followed rove since dumbya*'s shameful campaign against Ann Richards. I do not see a politically astute operative, I see a thug in Brooks Bros.

[Ian_rd]

14. You can't deny his skill

He got George W. Bush ... George ... W ... Bush ... elected Texas Governor twice, and President twice. Despite all of W's failings, the corruption of his administration, the all-out assault on civil liberties, and lying to start a war, Rove took him to victory every single time.

You can hate him. But you cannot responsibly deny his brilliance in manipulating public opinion to facilitate electoral victories.

[Raster]

15. Yes, I can deny his skill.

I lived in Texas from 1981 until 1995. I volunteered for Richards campaign against dumbya*. I knew people well-placed in the Texas republican party and was VERY FAMILIAR with rove long before dumbya* was elected.

rrrove was and is, a liar and a cheat. None of his "victories" indicated anything other than his willingness to play the lowest card in the deck.

And FYI, dumbya* was not elected in 2000, the was SELECTED by a brutally partisan SCOTUS. Neither was dumbya* lawfully elected in 2004 either.

We can agree to disagree. I find NOTHING brilliant about kkkarl rove. Nothing.

[TxVietVet]

17. Thank you, Raster. Rove is a lowlife.

bu$h was selected in 2000 and in 2004, he won by rigging voting machines. The darkest period in our history as far as I'm concerned.

[ailsagirl]

28. From what I hear, he's going to do everything in his power to have Nitt "elected"

He's worse than a no-good scum-- he's powerful, ruthless, and very, very dangerous.

I was hoping he'd disappear under the rock he slithered out from-- when I heard that he was involved in the 2012 election, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

[Raster]

33. One thing rove does not have going for him this election is the bush* family crime machine.

I don't think the bush* family's "love" of the current G.O.P. would allow their carefully constructed network of sycophants and good ol' boys and girls to be used to benefit Rmoney.

[Skittles]

27. I AGREE

Rove's "genius" is his ability to do things that would turn the stomach of any decent human being

[Cosmocat]

35. That has alwasy been my assessment of him

he isn't "brilliant" as much as he is willing to go into the grey areas that 99% of political operatives won't.

[Javaman]

20. No he didn't katherine harris got moron* appointed via the supreme court.

she ran interference in florida which rove cooked up the brooks brothers riot.

it was only then that the supremes stepped in, unconstitutionally, and appointed moron*.

all rove did was employ thuggery.

[Astazia]

23. Kathryn Harris(repuke tool 2000) did the "dirty work" & was rewarded

with a Congressional seat for two years after her time as FL Secretary of State & in Rove's repuke world she was a one & done congresswoman! Where is she now??? They are all such cynical fucks!

Hoping we take back house & keep the Senate!

The whole Bush era and their tactics still make me unsure about free & fair elections in our country. It's like a stain on the USA forever.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Rove's skill was forged in Pres. Nixon's Dirty Tricks department. nt.

[Raster]

22. kkkarl rove crawled out of the same nest of vipers that hatched...

...Lee <spit> Atwater.

[ailsagirl]

29. UGH--- Atwater was bad news

Another vile repuke...

And in the end, his so-called friends pretty much deserted him.

Figures.

[Raster]

31. On the supposed Atwater epiphany:

Conversion to Catholicism and new outlookIn the months after the severity of his illness became apparent, Atwater said he had converted to Catholicism, through the help of Fr. John Hardon and, in an act of repentance, Atwater issued a number of public and written letters to individuals to whom he had been opposed during his political career. In a letter to Tom Turnipseed dated June 28, 1990, he stated, "It is very important to me that I let you know that out of everything that has happened in my career, one of the low points remains the so-called 'jumper cable' episode," adding, "my illness has taught me something about the nature of humanity, love, brotherhood and relationships that I never understood, and probably never would have. So, from that standpoint, there is some truth and good in everything."

In a February 1991 article for Life magazine, Atwater wrote:

My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The '80s were about acquiring — acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn't I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn't I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don't know who will lead us through the '90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul.

This article was notable for an apology to Michael Dukakis for the 'naked cruelty' of the 1988 presidential election campaign.

Ed Rollins, however, told in the documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, that "[Atwater] was telling this story about how a Living Bible was what was giving him faith and I said to Mary (Matalin), 'I really, sincerely hope that he found peace.' She said, 'Ed, when we were cleaning up his things afterwards, the Bible was still wrapped in the cellophane and had never been taken out of the package,' which just told you everything there was. He was spinning right to the end."

[ailsagirl]

32. Thanks for posting this

I didn't really know anything about him until I watched that documentary, and I was just recoiling from what I was seeing, while at the same time, I was a bit curious. He looked horrendous toward the end. An all-around depressing story.

[The Wizard]

24. Ethically challenged

does not constitute political genius. Eventually Karl will die young or get a room at the Graybar Hotel and License Plate factory.

[Raster]

26. Thank you! I get so freakin' tired of people - especially here - repeating the meme.....

....that rove is some type of political genius. He's not. No one should buy in to rove 's "I am a genius" self-promotion. He makes far too many mistakes to be the second coming of Lee <spit> Atwater.

[CTyankee]

6. Here's a case of "rehabilitating" one's public image if I ever saw one!

Schmidt's done a pretty good job. He actually comes off looking half way reasonable, altho I wouldn't put any trust in the guy since he's a Republican.

[ailsagirl]

30. I know what you mean

He does tend to sound reasonable. He doesn't spew the venom as so many of his ilk do. He's not a neocon, I don't think. The fact that he's still a repuke, however, makes me wary of him.

[stanwyck]

10. agree with you, Lucy n/t

[BlueStreak]

19. I agree. I think he is a perfect fit for MSNBC

That was a smart hire. He is not just a conservative whipping boy on the "liberal channel". They engage in real discussions and he makes good points. I don't agree with him most of the time, but I really appreciate that he isn't just a talking point robot.

I think he is a lot more fair-minded than Morning Joe, for example.

I'd like to see MSNBC find a few more like him. David Frum would be good. Again, no talking points. He doesn't need them. He makes good arguments on his own.

[fleur-de-lisa]

4. Saw him on another show this morning and he was equally critical of Mitch . . .

it was either CNN or Morning Joe. One voice of reason on the repuke side.

[ecstatic]

7. I think Liar lost the "reasonable right" yesterday

"Reasonable right" is an oxymoron, but if such a category exists, Mitt lost them yesterday.

[CoffeeCat]

8. I have responded in the comments section---PLEASE DO SO AS WELL!

I'm sorry if I'm shouting, but it is so important that our voices are included in these comments sections.

Many people are trying to understand this complicated situation in the Middle East. They are reading articles
and processing information. After they read the article, they look to the comment sections to help them
put the article information in context. It's like listening to your neighbors speak around the water cooler.

PLEASE. I am begging you. Let your voice be heard. We are fighting to elect Barack Obama and Romney
and the neocons are lying their asses off about what Romney said. They're hiding the fact that Romney
has lied his ass off. Comments sections do matter!

Please, let your voice be heard. Help to shed the light on truth. You don't have to write more than
a sentence or two. Just voice your support for Obama.

THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!

[The Wizard]

9. Not so sure he picked The Palinator

I believe she was picked by Bill Kristol and Rash Limbaugh, and Schmidt did his best to work with her.

[stanwyck]

11. Rush and Kristol have never been right about anything

yet people continue to listen to them as though they're sages. Why?

[ClusterFreak]

13. Ya I think Schmidt just tried to make the best out of a bad situation. Wasn't his pick. n/t

[hifiguy]

16. Bill "I'm never right about anything" Kristol was the one

most responsible for foisting Princess Dumbass on Grampy. I am sure that just thinking about her makes Schmidt break out in hives to this day.

Schmidt seems to be an actual human being and not a flaming asshole. Partisan, but not crazy.

[CitizenPatriot]

18. Schmidt was the one who tried to keep Palin honest

in the end. He's a Republican, but he wouldn't let her lie about Todd being from the secessionist party after he checked the voting records. Palin and Schmidt went to war after that. He got burned badly.

I always wonder what he's thinking now. He loves McCain, but that campaign was a disaster. Had to be heartbreaking for him.

[ailsagirl]

36. Rove was not involved. What happened is...

according to 'Game Change,' Schmidt had superficially vetted her, then presented her to McCain, who in turn offered her 'the job.' It was only after she was publicly named his running-mate that it became apparent that she had 'baggage' that somehow 'slipped through the cracks.' One of McCain's people thought Schmidt had thoroughly vetted her, and Schmidt had thought the guy had done so, and so through a series of misunderstandings, Palin became the pick. The course of history could have been changed had McCain won, then subsequently suffered a serious health episode...

[napkinz]

25. NRFPT

[Cha]

34. And, look at the heinous way mitt tried to score

brownie points. Like he was talking to cheney, palin, lyin', john bolton, rumsfeld, paul wolfe, ..what's another neo con? Etc Etc Etc.

Tone Deaf MF.