Some time ago, there was a reader post on TPM that listed phrases from this campaign cycle we never wanted to hear again.  I don’t know if it made the list, but for me, the one that rises above (sinks below?) all others is Karl Rove Tactics.  Aside from reminding me of the repugnant man himself, the tactics that bear his name represent the worst that America has to offer.  The fact that they still work in spite of the fact that we are aware that they are being used is just sad.  The old adage is fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.  What does it say about the electorate that we can be fooled over and over again by this clown and his minions?

I bet some of you are reading this thinking yeah, but he’s not gonna get us this time.  We are fighting the smears, we’re not letting them get away with it like they did with John Kerry in 2004 or to John McCain in South Carolina in 2000.  We called them out on the whisper campaigns, we called them out by name, and we have a candidate who can express himself simply and forcefully who can fight back himself. 

To our peril, we forget about the other key aspect of Karl Rove tactics.  Sure, he is the master of the covert:  damaging whisper campaigns, race baiting, direct mail, push polls, and Barack has fought back against those, but what about the more overt tactic of turning your strength into a weakness?  They’re trying this as we speak:  They are trying to paint Barack as the typical vacillating politician, thus taking away his “outsider” advantage.  There is limited success here and I think defenses are up.  They are trying to brand Barack as an elite, thus taking away any advantage he might have from his meager upbringing.  This has had some success, but again, the defenses are up.  Barack is able to eloquently and forcefully put down these attempts in a speech, or a turn of phrase - This is going to be the problem. 

When the word got out that the acceptance speech would take place at Invesco Field, the conversation turned to what a moment it would be.  To see 70,000 people cheering while Barack brought the house down with an amazing address.  McCain can’t possibly match this spectacle, as evidenced by his “green screen” debacle the night the nomination was clinched.  The only option left is to minimize it.  Not to set the expectations so high that they can’t be met, but to actually turn this amazing positive into a negative.  This started yesterday with the comment out of camp McCain that “even NSYNC was able to sell out Invesco - twice.” 

We need to see what they’re trying to do here:  They are looking to turn one of Barack’s greatest strengths, mastery of the oratory and ability to draw large crowds, into a negative.  They are trying to create an environment where each time he gives a brilliant speech, people roll their eyes and say “there he goes again.”  And worst of all, the very target of this attack will make it difficult to defend, since any direct defense from Barack could be met with “see? there he goes again.”  I know it would be ridiculous for McCain to attack Barack on the topic of speechgiving, but that’s what defines this particular “Karl Rove Tactic.”  Attack an unimpeachable strength that your opponent is completely unprepared to defend, with bonus points if it’s also a weakness for you.  It was ridiculous for Bush to attack Kerry for military service, but he did, and it worked.  Defenses need to be up on this one.  The attack has started subtly, with eye rolls on Fox News when they talk about the latest speech, but it will turn more overt.  If we take the attitude that it’s so ridiculous that it couldn’t work, and we don’t dignify it with a response, it will work.

Don’t get fooled again.