Another failure for the Boy Genius

Lynn Swann - who lost to Governor Rendell by even more than Santorum lost to Casey - was apparently pushed on state GOPers by none other than Rove:

The decision to coalesce around Mr. Swann as the most viable candidate against Mr. Rendell took place at the highest levels of the state's Republican establishment. With encouragement from presidential adviser Karl Rove, members of the Pennsylvania leadership quickly signed on.

One of the things that has long struck me about Rove is how transparent most of his tactics - especially the non-dirty ones - are. Harriet Miers? USS Abraham Lincoln? Gonzalez and Alito (especially with the endlessly-repeated talking point of "what are you, anti-Catholic?")? Run a black football hero in PA - he can't lose!

Maybe part of what held Dems and the press (especially the press) in thrall to him was that he won with such blatantly showy political moves. It was brazen, like Jordan taking three-and-a-half strides to the basket (you see, kids, there was a time when travelling was called on almost everybody...). If he could run right past the ref like that, and not get called, then what couldn't he do?

But, as this election has shown, Rove's ham-handed tactics always were just that. It wasn't the show-pieces that won - it was the fearlessly dirty tactics going on behind the scenes (from calling a child advocate judge a pedophile to rioting in FL to illegal robocalling in 2002 and 2006). And for all his dirt, he never would have won in 2000 if not for the butterfly ballot; even after 9/11, it was only shamelessly politicizing Iraq that gained (a few) seats in 2002; whether Ohio was stolen in 2004 or not, he barely beat Kerry. And now he's been crushed in 2006, all his "you're not seeing the polls I'm looking at" bullshit now just comical (think Robert Siegel of NPR will call him out on it?).

Turd blossom.