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Dear Senator Obama ...
4. You speak of the "fierce urgency of now" that calls leaders to confront important challenges. Sounds good, but people are asking, what urgent issues have drawn your enormous talents? It's counterintuitive, but spend less time campaigning and more time working the Senate. Pick a big issue and fight hard for it. Win or lose, you'll give your argument substance.
5. Stop the attacks. They undermine your claim to a post-partisan new politics. You soared when you seemed above politics, lost altitude when you did what you criticize. Attacks are momentarily satisfying but ultimately corrode your appeal.
6. To answer growing questions about your inexperience, people need to know, in concrete and credible ways, what they can expect from you as president. That's missing now. And don't think those position papers written by academics and posted on the Web do the job. They have a check-the-box quality to them. Americans want to see your passion and commitment to things they care about, in ways that give them confidence you're up to the job. They can smell when something is poll-tested and focus-grouped, not from the heart. Also, you can't bluff anymore like you did on "Meet the Press" in October 2006. (You weren't officially running for president yet, but it's still telling.) Tim Russert pointed to the passage in "The Audacity of Hope" that says "no small number of government programs don't work as advertised," and he asked for an example. You cited Medicaid and Medicare, saying: "I think that there's no doubt that we could squeeze more efficiencies out of those systems there. Simple example, we don't use electronic billing for Medicare and Medicaid providers. Now there's no other business on earth that still has people filling out paper forms to get reimbursed, especially for a system that large. We could drastically reduce the costs of those systems."
The only problem is, the Bush administration, building on the good work of the Clinton administration, already put in place in 2003 a regulation that requires electronic billing of Medicaid and Medicare. Since then, all but a handful have been electronic. You won't get a pass on bluffing anymore. You'll have to do both your homework and occasionally something that's difficult for you (and most other politicians): admit you don't know.
You have talent, intelligence and tapped into something powerful early in your campaign. But running for president is unlike anything you've ever done. You're making mistakes and making people worry that you're an elitist. So while you'll almost certainly win the nomination, Democrats are nervous about the fall. You've given them reasons to be.
Rove, former senior adviser for President Bush, is a NEWSWEEK contributor.
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: Michael_B @ 04/27/2008 5:32:36 PM
Comment: Reading this is simply shocking and makes me almost physically sick. Why hasn't the media covered this more? Is there an actual fear by the media of a horrific retaliation? and more importantly...IS THIS WHAT WE WANT IN THE WHITE HOUSE??? I hope not. Please let's all remember...."Power corrupts; Absolute Power corrupts absolutely."
Posted By: chris isner @ 04/27/2008 5:32:36 PM
Comment: Karl Rove giving advice to Barack Obama on how to run an honest and inspiring campaign is like Andrew Dice Clay telling Bill Maher how to be funny.
Posted By: No_Party_Loyalty @ 04/27/2008 5:30:35 PM
Comment: Mr. Bob, you obviously miss the real issues due to your patronage to the Democratic Party and the African American sludge of despair that you support which is disseminated thru true racism from the African American community. Here are some points in case:
1) Numerous polls show that it is truly the African American community that is racist against the Caucasian race. Not the whites against the blacks as most African Americans want to portrait. The most recent poll showed that only 16% of the white race polled would refuse to vote for Obama due to his skin color. On the flip side it shows that more than 86% of the blacks that were polled would vote for Obama ONLY BECAUSE he is African American. THIS INDICATES WHERE TRUE RACISM RESIDES WITHIN OUR GREAT COUNTRY, AND IT IS NOT WITHIN THE CAUCASIN COMMUNITY AS AFRICAN AMERICAN???S WOULD LIKE US TO BELIEVE!
2) You mention the Republican Party being responsible for the rising cost of gas. First, common sense understanding is that the rise in gas prices is primarily due to the supply and demand caused by third world countries which now are becoming more economically sound where the citizens are earning more money and purchasing cars instead of riding bicycles or walking. Example: China and India. Are you aware of the economic growth in these 2 countries? Are you also aware that between China and India there are more people than 5 United States of America? People with your views always wear blinders in economics as it relates to worldwide views, and only see things as if the United States is the ONLY country to be considered in the outcome or cause effect. Get a grip on reality and see the big picture.
Furthermore, if you look at the overall historical percent of increase in gas prices, the greatest increases over the last 25 years have occurred during the times that the democratic party was in control of the white house. Do your homework! You are only seeing what has occurred during the last 2 years and neglect to factor in all the prior years in our history where gas prices surged when Democrats were the governing power for our country.
3) I am limited on number of characters allowed and I will finish with number three in a separate posting.