AP indulges in mindless speculation to portray Rove as untarnished

[ProSense]

ASSOCIATED PRESS IGNORES POLLS, INDULGES IN MINDLESS SPECULATION TO PORTRAY KARL ROVE AS UNTARNISHED AND POWERFUL.

Speaking of news orgs twisting themselves into contortions to portray everything as good news for Republicans, the Associated Press has a piece today about Karl Rove which is truly a masterpiece of the genre. The piece -- titled "Rove's Influence Undiminished by Scandal" -- portrays the Valerie Plame leak scandal and the fact that his portfolio was cut back as both being good for him. Here goes:

The slimmed-down portfolio leaves Rove freer to focus on politics, look at the big picture and provide a gut-check in a White House that has struggled with missteps that may leave Republicans vulnerable in the midterm congressional elections...

The Republican base never flinched at suggestions that Rove tried to smear administration critic Joe Wilson by revealing his wife's role as a CIA operative.

Publicity surrounding the case may have increased Rove's stature among Republicans and contributed to an almost mystical view of the longtime Bush strategist among the party faithful because he came out on top.

Man alive, that's just awful. First, can anyone explain what it means to say that the GOP base "never flinched"? Is that a factually meaningful statement in any way? Also note the word "never." As it happens, the statement, to the extent that it means anything, is unsupported by actual evidence. One July 2005 poll, taken when the scandal was entering public consciousness, found that 19 percent of Republicans thought Rove should resign over the controversy, while 23 percent of GOPers "following the news closely" thought he should resign. Yes, it's true that more GOPers thought Rove's conduct was OK, but still -- don't those numbers count as "flinching"?

What's more, here's another August 2005 poll which found that more than a third surveyed thought Rove's actions were "unethical," while 59 % thought it was "not worth it." Might some of those been Republicans? These two polls aren't enough for ironclad conclusions, obviously, but such numbers deserve at least a cursory glance from someone looking to throw around reckless generalizations about the GOP base "never flinching."

Meanwhile, the assertion that his standing "may" have been improved is unadulterated, virtually meaningless speculation -- and it, too, is unsupported by available evidence. A Gallup poll released yesterday found that Rove's favorable rating is 22 percent -- unchanged since April, which was before the news broke that the investigation into Rove had been dropped. And among Republicans, Rove's favorable rating is 44 percent -- lower than its high point last October. Given that this poll came out yesterday, the AP might have thought it worth including. And needless to say, there's no mention of the many polls which suggest that Rove's "Dems-are-weak" strategy is failing. Stick this piece in a time capsule so future generations can marvel at it.

http://www.prospect.org/horsesmouth/2006/08/post_314.html#006054