118 Days Later, Fox News Finally Identifies Rove As Informal Adviser To McCain
118 Days Later, Fox News Finally Identifies Rove As Informal Adviser To McCain
As ThinkProgress has noted with our repeated use of the “The Rove Watch” clock, Fox News has failed to properly identify Karl Rove as an informal adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Since signing on as a “Fox News contributor” in February, Rove, a maxed-out donor to McCain, has provided electoral maps to the campaign, admitted learning about insider information in a “private gathering” with the senator, and repeatedly shilled for McCain on the network.
But yesterday on Hannity & Colmes — after almost four months of silence — a Fox anchor finally gave Rove his proper title. While Rove was slamming Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) as a “weak” candidate, Alan Colmes, the liberal co-host of the show, interrupted and noted that Rove was a McCain supporter who informally advises the senator:
ROVE: And I repeat. He [Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)] does not have 50 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. If you look at it all, he has less than half a tenth, half of one percent lead.
COLMES: Look, Karl, I know you’re supporting McCain. But how do you know — and I know you informally advise McCain — but how do you know that he’s a weak general election candidate?
As Newshounds observed, Rove did not deny this label. Watch it:
Other media outlets such as ABC News and the Washington Post have identified Rove as an “informal adviser” to McCain. Rove has disputed the title, however. “I have friends at the campaign who occasionally ask me for reactions,” he said last month, calling these interactions simple “chit-chat.”
In fact, “Rove has a direct line to McCain advisers Steve Schmidt and Charlie Black and has been pushing the campaign” on strategy, as Marc Ambinder reported last month.
Conservatives on Fox, however, have refused to acknowledge Rove’s role in the campaign. In the segment last night, Sean Hannity referred to Rove as a “Fox News contributor” and “The Architect.” We’ll be watching to see whether Fox News’ conservative anchors follow Colmes’ lead.
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Since Rove has been so successful as of late, it’s no wonder that McSame is using him as an advisor.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 amGood grief, I’m so SICK of everyone fawning over that fat little pr*ck KKKarl Rove’s “political genius”!!
He has been 100% DEAD FREAKING WRONG about almost everything.
He’s nothing more than a pudgy, malicious and spiteful wingnut crackpot.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:25 amKKKRoverBoy is in for a rude awakening as the democratic primary draws to a close and McNumbNuts is exposed to a general election campaign. No way can RoverBoy’s advising possibly overcome the senile old coot’s gaffes, obvious pandering and flip-flopping.
The only reason RoverBoy was successful in packaging and selling GDumbya is that the moron was a total blank canvas. McNumbNuts, on the other hand, has 50 years of “baggage” full of dirty underwear that will see the light of day in the coming months.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:27 amohhh, the shock,.. the horror of it all! tell me something I couldn’t have guessed already. we already know they are all connect to their mothership!
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 amThe MSM is claiming Hillary will bow out this evening.
How many days before TP decides to cover that one?
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:29 am.
…So? Like KKKarl is ever correct.
.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:30 amLet it shine,Karl!
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:32 amWhat is the problem? Afraid your name will provide further evidence that a MyCane presidency will look no different from Bushco?
Leftside Annie Says:
Good grief, I’m so SICK of everyone fawning over that fat little pr*ck KKKarl Rove’s “political genius”!!
He has been 100% DEAD FREAKING WRONG about almost everything.
He’s nothing more than a pudgy, malicious and spiteful wingnut crackpot.
no, my dear, I think he’s far more dangerous than that.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 amyou know, ignorance and stupidity go hand in hand. and although they seem petty little things, they can be oh so dangerous.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:34 amThe MSM is claiming Hillary will bow out this evening.
How many days before TP decides to cover that one?
I am wondering the same thing. I sent them a “story idea” about ten minutes ago so put your stopwatch on it!
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:36 amYou may be right. My take on KKKarl’s reluctance to admit his role is that he knows McSame’s gonna go down in flames in November, and he wants to preserve the glorious legacy he’s built up with the Bush presidency.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:37 amDole should have directed his vitriol at the right person. There are miserable creatures like Rove in every administration.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:37 amAlan Colmes, the only man of Faux news who takes your calls name-town only, just officially kicked Rove’s ass.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:46 amHopefully, after tonight, we will be able to have discussions about how to beat McCain this November.
This is my favorite blog, especially since the holy rollers at Democratic Underground will get anyone that mentions they don’t believe in gods banned from there and Huffington Post has put in a moderator policy that slows down posts and eliminates conversational debate.
It has been the one dark spot at TP that they refuse to cover the Clinton campaign’s various antics that show her not to be fit for office.
After tonight, it could be possible that discussion of the upcoming election could resume here.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:46 amSo why would anyone be surprised at this. Since Rupert has said he likes Obama, I also wouldn’t be surprised if Fox starts changing it’s view of things – maybe by changing some of its talking heads. Could be that Fox News ends up just reflecting the views of whomever is in power.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:47 amI think they set that up as an implicit admission, on purpose. I mean, he is grinning, even smirking. He isn’t concentrating on what he is saying, he is enjoying “making this slip.”
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:48 amLet me be among those ‘identifying’ ROVE as a traitor, a coward, and a despicable puke of a human being.
You know, a Republican.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:59 amO’Really couldn’t begin to crack McLelland last night.
First he used the ‘facts are wrong’ diatribe.
Then he used the Concern Troll tactic; ‘how could you?’
Finally, he got mad.
Scotty, you held up to the interrogation just fine. I’m proud of you for agreeing to be grilled by this pervert. America got to see the real Billdo last night.
I thought the most important revelation was Scotty telling Billdo that yes, Rove has admitted to putting Valerie Plame’s name ‘out there’…that’s when O’Really imploded.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:11 pmUm, give us 117 more days, and THEN you can complain, k?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:34 pmFox News Finally Identifies Rove As CRIMINAL Adviser To McCain.
But then again, most of us identified Rove as a Criminal 8 years ago.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:35 pmwell, THIS sounds like a rove idea…
McCain plans major speech tonight -Boston Globe
’twill be interesting to see how the “mccain media” handle this…
it’s a 3-way!!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pmRove is still hoping that Hillary steals the nomination from Obama; as are most of the right wing gasbags.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:07 pmIs it just me or is the REALLY IMPORTANT part of this interview that where Rove points out that Clinton is leading in the electoral college against McCain and Obama is in a dead tie with him? Who cares what we can easily already discern, that Rove is a shill for the Republican candidate; why are we not heeding his observation that HILLARY CLINTON IS THE BEST CANDIDATE WE HAVE TO BEAT JOHN MCCAIN?!?!?
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:03 pmWon’t Colmes face the FOX goon squad for this? I thought protecting the golden ham was the #1 priority outside of FOX’s holy crusade against the truth. I know Saint Rupert doesn’t like coming down off his cross unless there’s fawning and a pile of money for him to lay in.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pmkassandrasduplex Says: Is it just me or is the REALLY IMPORTANT part of this interview that where Rove points out that Clinton is leading in the electoral college against McCain and Obama is in a dead tie with him? Who cares what we can easily already discern, that Rove is a shill for the Republican candidate; why are we not heeding his observation that HILLARY CLINTON IS THE BEST CANDIDATE WE HAVE TO BEAT JOHN MCCAIN?!?!?
– I haven’t abandoned the theory put forward months ago, by Jeffrey St.Clair, that Hillary wants Obama to run against McCain and lose, so that the GOP can carry on demolishing the non-white world for another four years, after which she and the Dems can step in and pick up whatever’s left. Cynical, I know.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:45 amWho the hell “chit chat”s? 75 year old women and Karl Rove. Why are all the Republican leaders such chicken shit men who would prefer to be old women?
June 4th, 2008 at 11:30 am