September 15, 2010, 9:01 am
O’Donnell Says Rove Eating “Humble Pie”
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
Christine O’Donnell versus Bush’s Brain?
The new Republican nominee for United States senator in Delaware said this morning that Karl Rove, the Republican strategist who had predicted her defeat, was “eating some humble pie.”
In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America, Ms. O’Donnell responded to withering criticism by Mr. Rove on Fox news late Tuesday night, in which he called her dishonest and plagued by scandals that will make her unelectable in November. He also said of her: “There’s just a lot of nutty things she’s been saying that just simply don’t add up.”
Ms. O’Donnell dismissed his comments. “Everything he is saying is unfactual,” she said. “And its a shame, because he’s the same so-called political guru that predicted I wasn’t going to win. And we won and we won big.”
In the interview, Ms. O’Donnell showed little indication that she was nervous about clashing with one of the most powerful political operatives within her own party — Mr. Rove also served as President George W. Bush’s chief political adviser. “Again he’s eating some humble pie and he’s just trying to restore his reputation,” she said.
She called the criticism by Mr. Rove and other top Republicans in Washington and Delaware “political cannibalism,” and said her defeat of Representative Michael N. Castle, a former governor, had more to do with his record.
“It’s humiliating that the party gets behind this guy who they say is the only person who can win but doesn’t stand for anything that the party stands for,” she said.
As for the charges by Mr. Rove and others, including allegations that she lied about payment of her student loans and taxes, Ms. O’Donnell said her campaign had already answered those questions and posted information on her campaign website.
“It took me 12 years to pay off my college degree, my college loans,” she said. “I’m not a trust fund baby. Most Delawarians can relate to having to work hard to pay for their college education. I was never dishonest about that.” |
