On Fox News Wednesday night, Karl Rove defended Democratic strategist, James Carville, for publicly criticizing Barack Obama's reelection strategy this week.
"He's a guy of strong conviction, and he wants the Democrats to win, and he's trying to do his best to influence Obama."
Host Greta Van Susteren then asked if it hurt Obama for Carville to make the criticism so public.
Rove answered:
"Well, maybe. Look, that's how James sometimes operates -- you're doing a dumb thing through a smart thing."
I'm assuming Rove mistakenly reversed the "dumb thing" comment and meant that Carville was "doing a smart thing" through, ostensibly, doing a dumb thing.
The exchange was prompted by Carville's hits Obama's strategy via the pen and TV this week, in which the strategist urged Obama to stop insisting that an economic recovery is in the air.
“I’m worried when the White House and the campaign talks about the progress that is being made, people will take that as a signal that they think that things are fine and people don’t feel that or believe that.”
