GOOBERGATE TWO
In WWNK of 8/30/04, we profiled President Bush's shadow, Karl Rove, and the tricks he has used throughout his career to further political causes. We may just have witnessed another one of his strokes of genius.
During a crucial moment in the 1986 campaign for Governor in Texas, in a close race between Republican Bill Clements and the incumbent Governor Mark White, a defining event took place. The evening prior to the only debate of the campaign, private investigators were called to the offices of Clements' campaign officials and those of Karl Rove & Co., a consultant firm to the Clements' campaign. Their mission was to sweep the offices in search of an electronic bugging device.
Rove had, so he said, become suspicious that campaign secrets were being leaked to both reporters and the Democrats. He suspected that his phone conversations were being overheard and important campaign strategy was being compromised.
The private firm hired by Karl Rove indeed discovered a bug-- conveniently located behind a picture frame on the wall next to his desk. The entire incident broke the day of the debate with an accompanying whisper campaign suggesting that White campaign operatives were behind the espionage.
Governor Mark White took the hit. With his poll numbers steadily rising in the weeks prior to the bugging, he stalled and declined steadily thereafter. For several weeks following discovery of the bugging device, the Clements campaign pointed the finger directly at White.
Clements went on to win the race for governor.
The real story, however, was not the race for governor or even the ultimate victor, but rather the suspected source of the bugging device. Many groups- -Democrats, Republicans and even law enforcement--surmised it was Rove himself.
In the weeks leading up to the fall election, law enforcement including the FBI worked overtime to uncover the source of the electronic bugging device. There was some evidence that pointed to an inside job. First, the bug was battery-operated with a maximum 10-hour life. For sustained operation over several weeks, the perpetrator would have needed daily access to Karl Rove's office to replace the battery. Secondly, the FBI found that the battery at the time of the bug detection was a six-volt battery with 5.8 volts of remaining power. The battery had, therefore, been installed and turned on the day of discovery. Yet there was no indication of any break- ins to Rove's office.
In a politically charged environment and without clear proof, the District Attorney, a Republican, disbanded all pursuit of the perpetrators... case closed. Yet partisans on both sides of the issue began referring to the great bugging caper as "Goobergate."
Word on the street in Texas was that Karl Rove had pulled off a masterful trick. Perfectly timed on the day of the only debate, the bugging of a challenger's campaign office and allegations of a "dirty trick" all proved too much for the White campaign.
A year later over dinner with Matt Lyon, White's speechwriter, his guest Patricia Tierney Alofsin and consultant John Weaver, the truth leaked out. According to Alofsin, Rove as much as admitted to bugging his own office, boasting to his dinner colleagues how he had outsmarted his political opponents.
Fast forward to 2004. Purported memos surfaced alleging that George W. Bush had skipped duties while in the National Guard and reported by CBS' 60 Minutes. Appearing six weeks before the November campaign, memos written by Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Killian in the 1970s offered further information regarding Bush's military service--information that could have proved most damaging to the incumbent. How could a sitting Commander-in-Chief maintain credibility if he had used family connections to gain a coveted assignment with the National Guard rather than face service in Vietnam? Even more damaging was "evidence" that Bush had also reneged on his Guard duties, essentially going AWOL.
However, if the source of the footage were discredited, the "explosive story" could in fact have the opposite effect.
Less than an hour following CBS' 60 Minutes story, right-wing oriented Internet blogs became the source of a campaign to challenge the authenticity of the Killian memos. They appeared ready in waiting. Eventually, following two weeks of denial and an unrelenting campaign against them, CBS retracted its story, indicating that they can no longer vouch for the authenticity of these accusatory memos.
Never mind that Killian's secretary at the time, Marian Carr Knox, stated that her boss had expressed similar concerns about Bush to her, and that the essence of the charges contained in the memos was accurate. The American press moved from the core issue to, instead, the authenticity of the memos and CBS' involvement.
The National Guard story has been a tremendous boost for the Bush Campaign and the timing couldn't have been better. Instead of focusing on the chaos in Iraq, health care, or the economy, the past two weeks focused on Dan Rather, CBS News and further evidence of liberal bias in the media. What could be more advantageous in the height of a presidential campaign than to have a battle over the credibility of one of the major news networks and questions about their motives? And the whisper campaign has already started with insinuations that Bush's opponents were in cahoots with retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett, the source of CBS' Killian memos.
Is there solid evidence of involvement by Karl Rove? Not yet, and most likely there never will be. Over the years Rove has skillfully prevented his fingerprints from appearing on any of his numerous dirty tricks. Yet, "CBS Memo Gate" has all the appearance and smell of another Rove dirty trick. And, if true, it will prove to be a masterful one at that. Ah, politics. |
