The plot against Rudy -anon. repub says Rove knew of Kerik's baggage

[Rose Siding]

snip>
As Rudy begins to distance himself from the ethically challenged, briefly nominated Homeland Security chief wanna-be Bernard Kerik, some right-wing hardliners claim White House strategist Karl Rove devised the Kerik debacle to hurt Giuliani's presidential chances in '08.

"Rove used Rudy and Kerik to tout Bush as the anti-terrorism candidate," says one Republican party player. "But Rudy is too socially liberal for the true-believers. So they let him shoot himself in the foot. Rove knew about Kerik's baggage - and that he could never be confirmed. But he went along with the nomination, betting that the heat would come down on Rudy, which it has."

A White House spokesman didn't return a call for comment on the conspiracy theory. But other party observers disagree that Bush wasn't damaged by Kerik.
"It may even have hurt the appointment of Alberto Gonzales , as Democratic senators are going to question his vetting process, too," says a source.

While some think Giuliani could still be a contender in four years, others believe Rove and Bush have one man in mind for the Oval Office: brother Jeb Bush.
"They're saying, 'We own the party now,'" says one source, "and we're not going to give it away."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/263969p-226037c.html

scroll down for story. *disclaimer: this is a gossip column

[Cassandra]

1. Goes along with this one from The Gadflyer

http://gadflyer.com/flytrap/index.php?Week=200451#1296

"West Texas-style Whack Job
Thomas F. Schaller
All of which suggests to me that Rove -- who likes to stab his enemies as well as his "friends" in the front -- knew precisely how this would play out. Keep in mind that, coming out of a New York City convention and re-election campaign in which Bush had to distance himself from the Tom Delays and Trent Lotts and James Dobsons of his coaltion in favor of the John McCains and Rudy Giulianis and Arnold Schwarzeneggers, and despite the mythical "moral values" swing vote, it would be easy for people like Giuliani to feel that Bush owes them.

Ok, fine, says Rove. So they appoint Kerik, who blows himself up as the nation watches, leaving plenty of black powder burns on Rudy's face. It's the perfect two-fer, because Rudy has now cashed in his electoral chit, and in exchange damaged his own national reputation. Favor repaid, in full, via a West Texas-style double-hit whack job that would make the goons Rudy used to prosecute nod with grudging admiration."

[lancdem]

3. If that's true

It makes Rudy look like a doofus to let Rove play him like that. I wonder if Rove has something similar in store to discredit McCain?

[itzamirakul]

4. Rudy really overplayed his hand on this one...

If he suggested Kerik to Bush all the while KNOWING that Kerik had suspicious ties to the mob...then was he (Raudy) TRYING to embarrass the White House?

If he (Rudy) DID NOT KNOW about Keriks' background, then what does that tell you about Rudy's leadership?

[lancdem]

2. I've been wondering about this

This certainly hurts Giuliani, but it embarrasses Bush, too. (Although I have to say I can imagine Rove et al claiming they "own the party.")

BTW, I could've sworn I read a couple months ago that Jeb Bush said he wasn't running in 2008. Anyone else recall that?