Rove and Plouffe Go Negative at Book Event

Old-school politicos can't help but go at it
By Gabriel Winant,  Newser Staff
Posted May 5, 2009 9:04 AM CDT
Rove and Plouffe Go Negative at Book Event
This May 10, 2007 file photo shows David Plouffe, campaign manager for Barack Obama posing in his Chicago campaign headquarters.    (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast,File)

Old campaign hacks never die; they just bicker at events to boost book sales. Last night Obama campaign geek-in-chief David Plouffe and Bush hatchet man Karl Rove went at it in Monterey, California, only half-playfully, the Huffington Post reports. Rove attacked Obama’s commitment to bipartisanship; shot back Plouffe, “This is like getting interview lessons from Sarah Palin.”

It shouldn't be a surprise that Plouffe and Rove didn’t get along: gaunt versus portly, reclusive versus bombastic, number-crunching versus bomb-throwing—it’s a miracle these guys didn’t explode on contact. When Rove mentioned that both have books coming out this fall, but available for order now, the Plouffe commented, “But mine will be in the non-fiction section.” Pantomiming a blow to the heart, Rove followed the campaign rulebook, and hit back. “His will be the one with lots of pictures in it.”
(More Election 2008 stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X