Willie Randolph: Ready To Take the 3am Phone Call

RED ROVEr, RED ROVEr, Send Karl RIGHT Over

On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, Karl Rove made yet another appearance on Fox News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes. The former George W. Bush chief advisor spent the first segment denouncing the Barack Obama (D-IL) camp for missteps that pale in comparison to those of Republican candidate John McCain (R-AZ). While this is standard fare for the “Fair and Balanced” news network, the next segment really caught my attention. Host Sean Hannity (too loud and overbearing for the title of Co-Host) teed-up a softball for Rove, addressing the outrage over current gas-prices, and the Democratic desire to “punish” oil companies for being successful.

Rove’s response:

GPM (Gross Profit Margin) for oil companies (also referred to as the “Energy Industry) is about 9%
Information and Delivery Services: 23.7%
Application Software: 22.2%
Shipping: 18.6%
Networking and Communication Devices: 17.2%
Beverages, Wine and Distilleries: 14%

“Should we be taxing every one of those that has a bigger profit margin than the energy industries? I don’t think so.”

Last I checked, the only necessity on that list (despite my love of “beverages”) is…
ENERGY!

The others on the list (with the possible exception of shipping) are COMMODITIES!

The point being, we don’t need these goods and services. Therefore, it is understandable that they are high-margin industries. On the other hand, we must have gasoline, due to years of irresponsibility and low-standards set by our government for the automotive industry in regards to the environment. Americans need gas for transportation to and from work, plain and simple. The same cannot be said for software and wine.

This got me thinking. It makes so much more sense now, that MC Rove chose to step away from the Bush Administration before seeing his second term come to a close. At the time of his departure, it seemed like the kitchen was getting just a little too heated for Rove, with the mounting blunders and scandals (most notably with his role in the Scooter Libby trial). However, with hindsight being 20/20, I now realize that it was simply a preemptive strike on the part of Bush’s Brain. He understood that the public opinion of the Bush Administration was not going to improve in the near future. The Democratic party had the momentum and, most importantly, the stronger candidates for the 2008 general election. With the potential of two or three open seats in the Supreme Court in the next term, this became an incredibly critical time to maintain a Republican occupancy of the Oval Office. Rove seized the opportunity to jump ship, for both personal and political reasons. He saved face personally by seeming to distancing himself from the mess he helped create in Washington. Politically, it allowed Rove to spend his time more wisely: spin-doctoring for GwB was fruitless, however, reloading the munitions for the uphill battle that is the ’08 election (regardless of nominee) was essential. Karl Rove has the uncanny knack of mobilizing the party, regardless of how bleak it looks on the surface. Shrewd as ever, the opportunistic mastermind went underground, only to emerge as an even more powerful mouthpiece for the Good Ol’ Party. The result is an all-out multimedia blitz: Op-Ed’s in the Washington Post, regular correspondence in Newsweek, and the icing on the cake, Fox News Channel. The latter gives him ample opportunities to serve the Kool-Aid AND berate the opposition (not necessarily in that order). Regular features on H&C and The O’Reilly Factor give Rove the outlet to rally the troops. It’s no accident that FNC gave him the megaphone to do just that. What better way to get your talking points out to the masses than to infiltrate the media? Pure genius. The puppet-master raised the curtain and took center stage to take his bow. I just pray that he never gets that encore…