Published: April 09, 2008 11:36 pm            

Rove visits Johnstown; predicts Dems’ primary rivalry could aid McCain

The divisive Democratic presidential primary could help presumptive GOP nominee John McCain win Pennsylvania and the White House in November, prominent campaign strategist Karl Rove said Wednesday.

Rove, in Johnstown to speak at a GOP fundraiser, said the ongoing battle between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama means McCain could pluck voters from the Democratic ranks.

“I think this primary’s going to leave some scars,” Rove said in an interview at The Tribune-Democrat. “Regardless of who wins, there are going to be some disaffected Democrats who McCain can reach out to.”

Rove is a controversial figure widely known as the architect of President George W. Bush’s victories in 2000 and 2004. He served as Bush’s deputy chief of staff and senior adviser before resigning in August.

Rove, while acknowledging some interaction with McCain’s staff, pledged that he will not take a role with the Arizona senator’s campaign – not even informally.

“Occasionally we chit-chat. But I’m not certain my interaction would rise to the level of an informal adviser,” Rove said.

Even Rove could not have scripted this year’s developments in the presidential race, including the flameout of prominent GOP candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney.

Rove noted that McCain’s candidacy was thought to be finished last summer.

“Who would’ve, last July, said McCain’s going to be the nominee of the Republican Party? Nobody,” he said. “I’m not even certain Mrs. McCain thought he was likely to be the nominee.”

Rove also said he has been surprised by the length of the campaign, a race that stretches back to late 2006.

“We’re going to have two candidates fighting it out in the general election who have been running at Mach 1 speed for nearly two years,” he said.

“And about the time they finish, they’re going to have to assemble a government and raise their right hand. And they’re going to be completely and utterly exhausted.”

Still, Rove likes McCain’s chances.

He predicted that the 71-year-old senator’s age will not be a big factor in the general election.

And Rove said it’s a good sign for McCain that he has maintained popularity in polls despite that fact that Democrats are dominating political headlines.

Still, there is no doubt the Democratic contest has led some GOP voters to switch parties for the primary election.

Rove is betting that the party can woo those voters back into the fold. In fact, that effort already has begun.

Rob Gleason, a Johnstown businessman who leads the Cambria County and Pennsylvania Republican committees, on Wedesday announced the kickoff of a statewide voter registration drive.

In a statement, Gleason said the bump in Democratic voter registration “does not represent a mass ideological shift” in the Keystone State.

The party “is committed to reaching out to every single voter that temporarily switched party registration,” he said.

Rove had high praise for Gleason’s leadership.

“My dealings with him have led me to see that he’s one of the more effective state chairmen in the country.”

        

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