When Karl Rove spread rumors that Hillary Clinton suffered recent brain damage, he probably hoped it would stifle her potential 2016 presidential campaign. He’s only done the opposite, however, a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found. Even worse, poll results say, Rove’s attack damaged his own reputation. And worst of all, his long history of these tactics reveal that the man known as ?Bush’s Brain? might only be trying to cover up a neurological diagnosis of his own.
Speaking at a May 8 conference in Los Angeles, Rove dramatized Clinton’s 2012 hospitalization.
?Thirty days in the hospital? And when she reappears, she’s wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what’s up with that.?
(She was actually hospitalized for only three days in treatment for a blood clot that resulted from a concussion, and which occurred when she fainted while suffering a stomach virus. Because concussions can increase eye sensitivity to light, medical facilities commonly issue dark sunglasses to patients for outdoor wear.)
Rove’s antic had no effect on public opinion of Clinton, however. The May 28 poll says 55 percent of Americans still support her as a presidential candidate in 2016, almost identical to the results of a December poll.
Only 26 percent find Rove’s recent tactics to be acceptable, though; 66 percent disapprove, and strongly so, say 43 percent.
Moreover, based on his trademarked methods in political smear campaigns, this latest trick could indicate that Rove himself is the one suffering from a brain injury he might be trying to hide from the public. Consider:
Rove is credited with creating what’s now a classic cover-up strategy, which in a nutshell is ? if you’re guilty of a crime, publicly accuse the other side of the same or similar crime first. That way, the opponent’s response can be watered down to a childish ?no, I didn’t ? he did!? argument. The public is likely to reject that response, so your reputation is saved. Rove’s used this method to cover up for many politicians before, too. For example:
- When George W. Bush’s AWOL status in Vietnam started to get public attention, Rove stirred up the ?Swift Boat Veterans for Truth? group that tried to question the military record of Bush’s 2004 Democratic opponent John Kerry.
- When John McCain’s birth location (Panama Canal Zone) got leaked, making his eligibility for the president’s office questionable, the public was affronted with the ?Obama was born in Kenya? slider.
He’s used the same trick to cover up for himself, too. Back in 1986 while working a gubernatorial campaign in Texas, Rove was concerned that news of his inclusion in the Watergate investigation was about to be covered by press; to avoid any damage to both him and his client, William Clements Jr., Rove held a press conference claiming his office had been bugged by the Democratic opponent’s campaign. (While this generated FBI interest, investigation was quickly dropped.)
Based on the history of his use of this method, then, it stands to reason that Rove himself might be trying to block news about his own diagnosis of brain damage. His recent behavior defends this argument, too.
For example, Rove can’t make up his mind regarding his comment about Clinton. First he insinuated she had a traumatic brain injury. Five days later on May 13, though, he said the opposite; ?Of course, she doesn’t have brain injury,? he told a reporter. And on May 19, he reverted back to the original claim, telling Fox News ?a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury.?
These flip-flops are symptomatic of TBI. The common traits of brain injury include issuance of boldly false statements, which can result from damages to both perception and personality, and absent-mindedness of what one recently said.
So it seems that Rove himself might be the one who’s shy one or two cards of a full deck. And he got stuck with the joker, too, since the poll results show his latest smear campaign didn’t work.
Edited/Published by: SB
