Rove to Kerry: Bush is Not a Phony

John,

As the campaign comes to a close, it's time to close the deal, and lock in the conventional wisdom (CW). As I said earlier, we need to capture the hearts and minds of voters as they head to the booth. "W" is a natural in the heart department, so most of our work should be attacking his advantage hard.

Nothing helps lock in CW like a catchy phrase, an alliteration, a rhyme, or a twist on a famous saying that resonates with national feelings.

In my last tip, we started talking about all the faults of "W" beginning to fit nicely into the catch-all phrase of a "one-trick pony." Let's expand on this, using rhyme, simple phrases, combined with a "this is very obvious" tone:

"President Bush went into Iraq, but failed to decapitate Al Q'aida like he promised.

President Bush went into Iraq, but the stock market stumbled.

President Bush went into Iraq, but created unease, which raised gas prices and reduced salaries.

President Bush went into Iraq, but forgot about everyday Americans and their daily challenges and struggles.

President Bush went into Iraq, but forgot that we had long-standing allies.

President Bush went into Iraq, but forgot the promises he made in 2000.

You know what this tells me?

President Bush isn't a phony, he's a one-trick pony.

America not only needs a President who can focus on terror like only a former soldier can, but a President who can also do the rest of his job, too. Now that things are more complex in the world, now that things aren't going as well as this administration planned, America needs a President who can do more than one thing at a time -- America needs a President who can do it all."