Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has a very loyal and dedicated following, and what former George W. Bush deputy chief of staff Karl Rove said Wednesday night is not going to please them.
On Fox News Channel’s “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren,” Rove sounded off about Palin and her reaction to recent criticisms, particularly those criticisms stemming from her reaction to Rove’s speculation that she would eventually be a candidate.
“I’m mystified — look she is all upset about this saying I’m somehow trying to sabotage her in some way,” Rove said. “And that how dare I speculate on her future. If she doesn’t want to be speculated about as a potential presidential candidate. There’s an easy way to end the speculation: Simply say I’m not running.”
“But instead, every time she pops up in the public eye — like she did on CNN at the Iowa State Fair a number of days ago — she said ‘I have not made a decision,'” he explained.
Rove continued: “It is a sign of enormous thin skin that if we speculate about her that she gets upset,” he said. “And I suspect that if we didn’t speculate about her, she would be upset wanting to get us to speculate about her.”
Rove went on to say Palin should either announce or end the speculation by saying she wouldn’t be a candidate, adding her thin-skinned nature won’t suit her well in a bid for the 2012 nomination.
“She is a player,” Rove said. “And so if she doesn’t want to be speculated about, then end the speculation by saying ‘I’m not going to be a candidate.’ Until then I would just recommend she might get a slightly thicker skin, because if she’s got this thin a skin now, when people are saying ‘I think she might be a candidate,’ how is she going to react if she does get into the campaign and gets the scrutiny that every presidential candidate does get? I mean, that is not a pretty sight if she is as thin-skinned in the fray as she is on the edges of it.”