Rove's national experience highlights talk

On Wednesday April 15, Karl Rove, a chief strategist for the George W. Bush administration spoke in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center.

Rove helped Bush get elected governor and president, twice.

“He is still sought after as a political consultant, obviously for Republicans,” said Dr. Thomas Baldino, professor of politcal science.

Some students were impressed with Rove’s stop at Wilkes University. Rove said he likes to get the word out by speaking to college Republicans.

“I didn’t think somebody as important or prestigious as Karl Rove would speak at Wilkes University,” said Lauren Benhamou, a political science major.

When Amanda Parfitt, another political science major, heard that Rove was coming to Wilkes, she was surprised by the news.

Adam Szumski, a political science major, said that he was happy to be able to see Rove in person but was upset that he went into the anatomy of campaigns which, to Szumski, is essentially marketing techniques. Szumski noted he would have been more pleased with a discussion about his role in the White House but was pleased overall.

In his address to students, one of Rove’s main points was about elections. He offered nine ideas for what comprise a successful to run a successful campaign...are applicable to any party: Democrat, Republican, Socialist, Communist, Liberterian… you name it. You can use those points,” said Baldino.

“What he said that day about elections was pretty spot-on. Everything he said you can pretty much see from what plays out during an election. He’s a very intelligent man and I think that’s obvious by the fact that he got George Bush to win twice in a row,” said Benhamou.

Rove also noted how important voting is. He talked about how certain tactics during campaigns can make or break an election.

“He made a very important point that Obama used a lot of things [tactics.] He was just a man that everyone loved, pretty much. He was really suave in the way he spoke and he was really in-tune with certain constituencies like teenagers and younger voters. John McCain just didn’t do enough to reach out to those voters,” said Parfitt.

Rove pointed out that the three things that differentiated the parties and ultimately led to the election of President Obama were a natural desire for a Democratic candidate, Obama’s plan for change and money.

In Baldino’s eyes, the lecture was straightforward and easily digestible. Rove did not “dumb it down” for college students. Baldino also thought that during the formal part of Rove’s presentation, he was only mildly partisan. During his question and answer period, he became increasingly partial towards the Republican party.

Rove was a professional Republican operator. Now Rove helps acts as a fundraiser for the Republican party and also does commentary for FOX news.

Szumski added that it is easy for people to despise or hate the Karl Rove they see on FOX news for the 30 seconds that they see him.

Parfitt and Benhamou agreed that it is important for students to go to understand the sides of each party.

“If a college student doesn’t understand the contemporary American politics and wants to know, ‘What do Republicans stand for?’ ‘What do Democrats stand for?’ they need to go to events like this. Because what you heard from Rove during the question period is what Republicans believe,” said Baldino.