Brokaw: Rove revealed how Bush would win in Ohio

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Raw Story

Veteran jounalist Tom Brokaw reminisced on Wednesday about President Bush's unexpected reelection victory in 2004 and how Karl Rove had confidently explained to him the preceding weekend just where they would pull it out.

Brokaw told the Daily Show's Jon Stewart that both the Obama and the McCain campaigns are currently well aware that Obama holds a substantial lead. "But I remember," Brokaw cautioned, "four years ago, John Kerry on a Wednesday night before the election said to me, 'Tom, no incumbent president who is under 50% at this stage has ever been re-elected.'"

"And on Friday, Osama bin Laden came out with a tape," continued Brokaw. "On the weekend I went down to interview the president, and Karl Rove and company took me through the map, how they were going to win in the southeastern corner of Ohio and how they were going to be competitive in other areas. And I came back and I, uh, 'I think they're going to pull this one off.'"

As described by the National Journal, "On Election Night 2004, as returns from Ohio began pouring in, Democrats turned giddy. ... The Democrats' euphoria was prompted by reports that their Ohio strategy of maximizing voter turnout in their urban strongholds had swamped President Bush and would enable Democratic challenger John Kerry to win the state's 20 electoral votes. ... But the Democrats' glee proved short-lived. Bush's re-election campaign, using sophisticated voter identification and turnout techniques in suburban and exurban Ohio, had greatly boosted the GOP's own numbers at the polls. ... Bush went on to carry Ohio by fewer than 120,000 votes out of more than 5.6 million cast."

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Brokaw_Rove_revealed_how_Bush_would_1023.html

[polichick]

1. They "pulled it off" alright - with the fixing of Diebold machines!

[paulkienitz]

19. I thought Ohio used ES&S machines.

[DJ13]

2. Brokaw is a tool

[CJCRANE]

3. Has anyone ever explained

what are Rove's "sophisticated voter identification and turnout techniques"?

:shrug:

[John Q. Citizen]

12. One would think that would be of interest.

[road2000]

13. Like this:

They purge the rolls of new voters, urban voters, and young voters. That's "sophisticated voter identification." Under "sophisticated turnout techniques," they simply allow hundreds of thousands of the same demographics to visit a polling place -- where there are no machines, machines that don't work, or machines that switch votes.

[fed_up_mother]

22. What that one said.

:)

[Kolesar]

15. the gops bought demographic data such as credit card purchase data

to figure out which voters to reach with direct mail, fund raising, canvassing, registration and get-out-the-vote programs. It worked.

Obama is using the same methods. I am impressed and I have hope.

[gratuitous]

18. And if those techniques were so valuable . . .

Why didn't they use them again in 2006? Seems like they dismantled them almost immediately. Curious, no?

[smoogatz]

4. They used you, Brokaw, you dumbass.

They brought you in and fed you their cover story, and you bought it hook, line and sinker.

[Doctor_J]

5. God, what a piece of shit he's become

are there any journalists left?

[Papagoose]

10. Brokaw was my favorite of the 3 network anchors

growing up I watched him pretty much exclusively - but he has really disappointed me in the past couple of years. This election cycle he has flat out enraged me with his overt pandering to the McCain campaign.

[GreenPartyVoter]

25. Same here. I picked him because I was mad at Dan Rather for taking

Walter's job. (Gotta love the logic of a little kid. LOL)

[Eric J in MN]

6. Mitofsky, the exit pollster, mixed the machine-count in the afternoon...

...with the real exit polls.

That is why the numbers changed in the afternoon.

More people were still saying they voted for John Kerry than for Bush, but Mitofsky mixed their answers with the machine-count while continuing to call it an "Exit Poll."

[peacetalksforall]

7. With every day, I despise Tom Brokaw more. He's covering his own role.

Complicity. I remember him repeating why exit polling was different - a crap load of lies because the change meant theft facilitation. He's a co-thief. He knew what his role was in Ohio and he really didn't play act well. Now he's being a drama playwrite and actor. Go jump in your lake at one of your several homes, Tom. Maybe your history will be cleaned up.

[fascisthunter]

8. and I'm Sure Rove revealed Many Things to you Personally, Brokenjaw

[GOPNotForMe]

9. Stop reliving the past, Tommy. Your boy McCain is going to lose. Deal with it. nt

[Eurobabe]

11. My greatest hope is that Ohio will be irrelevant this cycle

We won't NEED those 20 electoral votes, so no matter how these motherfuckers try to steal it, it will be of no consequence.

[goodgd_yall]

29. Amen!

This election my hope is that I won't be biting my nails waiting for one state's results to come in that will make the difference.

[Dr Fate]

14. Note how Tom seems to gloss over the Bin Laden tape as a mere coincidence, apparently.

Somehow his "investigative skills" seemed to write that off as just another legitimate, coincidental factor in the race.

[Generator]

16. Salt in the wound

I'm still not over it. Haven't forgotten, haven't forgiven. Yeah and in Gd/politics-"Obama is real". Well so was Kerry and so was Gore. Fucking not getting over it. It's getting worse the closer we get to another goddamn election. It chills me to read this.

[NorCalDem]

17. You know... I lose a bit more respect for Tom Brokaw

and even Brian Williams every single day...

[FUCK_BUSH]

20. What a POS he is. He is trying so hard to give something to Mclame so he can win.

This ass-hole was so upset when obama gave his acceptance speech, b/c he knew obama was real and going to get elected. watch msnbc coverage after obama's speech if you don't believe me.

[lizzieforkerry]

21. The plan was to steal the votes in SouthWEST Ohio

They claimed there was a Homeland Security threat and locked the press out of the counting. They only became concerned about the homeland security threat at 8:00 election night, even though they had "known" about it for days. People were allowed in the building all day. The two schools that were 100 yards away were in seesion all day, parents were not notified of this threat. The only people this threat affected was the press that were covering the vote count.

[underpants]

23. I saw that on TDS-Brokaw is such a tool. HOW is the question begging to be asked

but how am I? certainly not a seasoned experienced guy like Brokejaw

[november3rd]

24. Chris Hedges?

Is that the author of the book on How They Did It?

[jsmirman]

26. Uh, how about the Rolling Stone article on the suspect western counties???

The counties I identified as outliers when I matched demographic info to voting returns and Rolling Stone exposed as having much lower vote totals for Kerry than the total number of straight Dem ballots in those counties???

Try that one, Tom. I swear, the next time I see him, we're having words.

[bemildred]

27. So basically, Brokaw believes Rove would not lie to him.

Or use him, of mislead him, or anything like that. He thinks Rove is a credible witness and would never think of using him, Brokaw, as a tool.

[Arugula Latte]

28. Fuck you, Tom Brokaw.

You sad has-been rightwing tool.