Ouch! Rove Takes Shots at Obama Inner Circle

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 14, 2008 8:15 PM CST
Ouch! Rove Takes Shots at Obama Inner Circle
Republican strategist Karl Rove addresses delegates at the Republican state convention at the Mayo Civic Center on Saturday, May 31, 2008 in Rochester, Minn.   (AP Photo/The Star Tribune,Jennifer Simonson)

Take that, Joe Biden. And Rahm Emanuel. And you too, New York Times Magazine interviewer. In a recent chat, a testy Karl Rove says the VP-elect "has an odd combination of longevity and long-windedness that passes for wisdom in Washington." Asked if he engages in negative politics, the former Bush adviser says "No"—but insists Thomas Jefferson did by hiring "a notorious slanderer" to badmouth John Adams.

Rove also calls Rahm Emanuel a "head-in-your-face, scream-and-shout, send-them-a-dead-fish partisan," and denies having been booed off stage recently. "I’ve been booed on stages," he says. He saves his last barb for interviewer Deborah Solomon. "You're the one who hurt my feelings," he tells her. "I’ve got it on tape. I’m going to transcribe this and send it to you." (More Karl Rove stories.)

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