If Karl Rove

June 20, 2002 4:04 PM

If Karl Rove is allowed to use PowerPoint, the terrorists will have won. It's amazing that this master operative is using the same cheesy graphics, poor font choices, and cliched business terms ("synergies") as your boss, but it's true--when his intern dropped a disk with this thing on it, it got into the hands of Roll Call.

Note especially slide 21 and slide 26--apparently Florida is a "Special Concern"

Via the NY Observer's Joe Conason
posted by lackutrol (13 comments total)

Rove gives me the creeps. Powerpoint gives me the creeps. Together, they're unbearable.
posted by evanizer at 4:09 PM on June 20, 2002

I looked through around 10 slides, and didn't see many cheesy things-- more like plain information laid out simply. Pretty interesting, a lot of information given in a fairly small presentation. Rove seems well organized and has a handle on a lot of the issues that will matter in this unique election.
posted by cell divide at 4:25 PM on June 20, 2002

I kept waiting for the slide that said "if we increase the eyeballs captured 25% per month, we'll be profitable by Q4 2007" with the accompanying hockey stick curve of revenue.

But ditto on evanizer: double creepy.
posted by billder at 4:29 PM on June 20, 2002

I was fascinated to note that North Carolina is listed in slide #6 as a "Possible D Pickup" rather than a "Possible R Pickup." The way NC Republicans have been crowing down here, Elizabeth Dole's all but a shoo-in over Erskine Bowles. I've never believed it, myself -- she's a notoriously horrible campaigner and the state Democratic Party is still very strong -- but it's nice to get such clear confirmation from Mr. Rove himself.
posted by mediareport at 4:35 PM on June 20, 2002

For Jesse Helms' Senate seat, I mean.
posted by mediareport at 4:36 PM on June 20, 2002

Note especially slide 21 and slide 26--apparently Florida is a "Special Concern"

Well it is America's shlong.
posted by skallas at 4:56 PM on June 20, 2002

Good comment, cell divide. No flashy graphics, or hoggy pictures. Some of my bosses manage to pack in 20-30 megs into a single presentation, with only 20 slides. Pointless pictures, usually. Rove's presentation is, as you said, simple. Hell, he coulda/shoulda done it in a simple Word document!
posted by davidmsc at 5:17 PM on June 20, 2002

That's better than most PowerPoint presentations simply because it doesn't include an animated arrow going into a target complete with sound effects.
posted by smackfu at 5:28 PM on June 20, 2002

Note especially slide 21 and slide 26--apparently Florida is a "Special Concern"

Well it is America's shlong.

New license plate slogan.
posted by Ty Webb at 5:34 PM on June 20, 2002

I guess it is a little interesting, but it is more interesting how sheltered Joe Conason is..."Coal" "Steel" "Ranchers" are simply the labels they are using for segments. A Democrat deck on the same topic would be nearly identical.

Unremarkable.
posted by O Boingo at 6:30 PM on June 20, 2002

Their goal of improving African American "outreach" in 2002 kind of bumps up against the pointedly sarcastic reference to Rep. Rangel, "D-Harlem" in the last slide.

I bet they all had a great old white male guffaw over that one.
posted by PrinceValium at 6:34 PM on June 20, 2002

Power corrupts. PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.
posted by geneablogy at 10:01 PM on June 20, 2002

I wish they had audio for this -- I'm having trouble figuring out the difference between "Grow" and "Expand" in Slide 21..

But despite the slight creepiness of it all (the creepiest bit may be the "Office of Strategic Initiatives" footer), I'm at least partly with cell divide -- I was expecting a classy blue-to-black gradient background, but none is to be found.
posted by tingley at 11:25 PM on June 20, 2002