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Karl Rove Has Figured Out Why Obama Won
December 04, 2008 10:38 AM
This morning in the Wall Street Journal Karl Rove writes about the election...and money. Today, Barack Obama and John McCain report on just how much money they ended up spending on their race for the White House. Rove says that the numbers may show Obama outspent McCain by the biggest margin in history, perhaps, he says, by a quarter of a billion dollars.
Rove writing in the WSJ: "If money talks, we'll likely soon hear the real reason why Barack Obama beat John McCain. Both men and the national parties will report to the Federal Election Commission today how much money they raised in October and November. And what the numbers will probably show is that Mr. Obama outspent Mr. McCain by the biggest margin in history, perhaps a quarter of a billion dollars."
Rove also raises the question of where Obama's money came from. How much really came from small donors? ABC's Senior White House Correspondent reported on this subject back in November. Here's Rove in the Journal: "To diminish criticism, Mr. Obama's campaign spun the storyline that he was being bankrolled by small donors. Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute, calls that a "myth." CFI found that Mr. Obama raised money the old fashioned way -- 74% of his funds came from large donors (those who donated more than $200) and nearly half from people who gave $1,000 or more."
December 4, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (53)
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I think President-Elect Obama won because "the people" who wanted change voted for him! We were so sick and tired of the same antics of the GOP!! No more, Change Has Come!
Posted by: Kizzy | Dec 4, 2008 12:28:38 PM
my biggest problem with the election was the fact the american people contributed millions just to campaign...God forbid they used that money to ACTUALLY help a person in need!!!
Posted by: Candice | Dec 4, 2008 12:40:46 PM
Rove you forgot that you have to include FOX NEWS and all right wing Radio and born again advertising against Obama in the comparison. O had to raise big money to even approach the deck stacked against him. Great job OBAMA !
Posted by: philosopherkingtomas | Dec 4, 2008 12:42:49 PM
Karl, get over yourself. Perhaps our country has suffered enough at your hands. You were an advisor to Bush and much of our misery is on you. Barak Obama won because the majority of America believed him to be the best qualified. The election is OVER, Obama won and, for some reason, the Republican Party is having a problem accepting it. Well, many of us did NOT vote for GWB and we had to live with it for eight years so, please, go back to Texas and be silent for a while!! Let us enjoy our decision.
Posted by: B. Reinking | Dec 4, 2008 12:42:54 PM
Is this a serious story? Why does anyone still care what Karl Rove has to say about anything. Why was he on the Today's Show the other day? It is just ridiculous.
Posted by: KJ06 | Dec 4, 2008 12:44:10 PM
I just have to say, stop whining!!! I just love it. When the Republicans outspend the Democrats they don't complain but when they are outspent by the Democrats then they scream bloody murder. Oh the election was bought. Gee ya think that it might just go both ways???!!! The Obama campaign and the Democratic party finally realized that to win takes money and lots of it. This will be the way US elections are run until we change something to stop this incredible expenditure of huge amounts of money.
Posted by: Bill S. | Dec 4, 2008 12:55:10 PM
President Elect Obama won the election
because, no matter what Rove says and tries to put a negative spin on, the people of this country want CHANGE!!
Positve changes with positive attitudes.
Rove just does not get it.
Posted by: linda | Dec 4, 2008 12:55:51 PM
Republicans have Fox news.
Democrats have CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN,
MSNBC, etc., etc.
(movie stars, etc.)
You're going to begrude the Republicans FOX News? The 'born again' Christians are Republicans(for the most part). Democrats have their own followers.
The race came down to this:
What is the definition of 'character', and does it matter in the long run?
Does the end justify the means?
Well, we saw which way the vote went.
Lesson learned. It doesn't mean we have to change our definition of character, but we will play it different 'the next time'.
Posted by: old dog, new tricks | Dec 4, 2008 1:06:35 PM
This is a story that Americans need to hear. The story line is what we need to be hearing from all media on all candidates. Thank you
Posted by: Daniel | Dec 4, 2008 1:13:03 PM
The more popular candidate was able to raise and spend more money than the less popular candidate? What a shock.
Posted by: Yukon Sam | Dec 4, 2008 1:22:45 PM
Karl Rove needs to be arrested for contempt of congress for ignoring his congessional subpoena, muzzled, and dragged into congress in shackles to answer the questions this country has a right to know about his illegal activites all these years. He has done more to disrupt the democratic process in this country than I thought possible ad now he has the nerve to complain about his failure to disrupt it yet again in this election. Why this criminal continues to have a voice in the media and national politics amazes.
Posted by: Charlie | Dec 4, 2008 1:38:01 PM
STOP BEING HATERS! Give the man a chance PLEASE!
Posted by: Virginia Brogdon | Dec 4, 2008 1:45:29 PM
Rove just figured this out? Did he pass 5th grade civics? Any person in this country with a brain could see that Obama bought the WhiteHouse. I hope he likes it now that he has to answer to the public's scrutiny of him and his family. I do hope that Michelle can become less racist.
Posted by: jim | Dec 4, 2008 1:50:46 PM
I agree that all media should be reporting the news.
I was commenting on a post regarding FOX News. I was merely saying that Republicans have FOX News and the Democrats have CNN, etc., (so Democrats should not begrudge Republicans FOX).
It's amazing to see all of the different opinions. People's world view do indeed vary greatly.
It's MY world view that the race came down to the definition of "character".
Each side IS entitled to their opinion.
(remember, there's good and bad character - it's all how you see it.)
Posted by: old school - new attitude | Dec 4, 2008 2:02:33 PM
Rove was just commenting on the race.
It's no big deal. Some people are making more of his comments than it actually is.
That's what you do when you fail something. You re-evaluate the situation and move on. It's the smart thing to do.
I think Obama is not concerned about comments like Rove's. Obama has bigger fish to fry.
Nobody is really hammering Obama, as far as I can see at this time.
He's picking his cabinet and White House staff. It's only fair that people are allowed to comment on his choices.
Everybody does it in every election.
I'm sure Obama is not that sensitive; I hope not, anyway.
Posted by: old school | Dec 4, 2008 2:10:32 PM
Rove is an irrelevant idiot.
Candidates SPEND whatever they RAISE. Obama outspent McCain because OBAMA OUT-RAISED MCCAIN.
Rove should ask himself why everyone - both big donors and small ones - wanted Obama to lead our country!!
Posted by: Peter T. Davis | Dec 4, 2008 2:10:59 PM
I know where his money came from O.W. in Chicago she just used other peoples names to funnel the funds with.
Posted by: Ray | Dec 4, 2008 2:12:46 PM
McCain took federal dollars for his election. Obama said he was going to, but backed out of it. This hurt McCain.
It is what it is.
Now, McCain hurt himself by going 'middle of the road'. Many big spenders did not give McCain because of hard feelings from the past.
As far as the popular vote, if Obama got just 3% less, and McCain picked up those 3%, McCain would have won the popular vote by less than one-half
percent (I believe. You can correct me if anybody cares to.)
As you can see, it wasn't a landslide by popular vote.
Posted by: old school | Dec 4, 2008 2:40:56 PM
Karl Rove has done so much damage to this country and he continues his negative, twisted spin on any and everything.
He does NOT understand what our forefathers had in mind when they drew up our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.
Roger Ailes wants him, Ailes deserves him and can have him.
At least Rove is miles away from the Oval Office now.
Posted by: Peter Bright | Dec 4, 2008 3:10:19 PM
it had nothing to do money and everything to do with message. the racism at the end of the campaign turned many voters away from the republican ticket. if McCain and especially Palin did more to say "if you are a racist we do not want your vote", it would have been a closer election. i think hate is on it's way out. it's toxic. for the republicans, so toxic it might have cost them the election.
Posted by: Paul Wall | Dec 4, 2008 4:08:43 PM
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