TERRY MCAULIFFE
(Terence Richard McAuliffe)
Karl Rove denied that there was any political attempt to use the war in the campaign and President Bush made a similar statement. Bush may or may not have known the truth but Rove was lying baldly. Politicizing the war was the basis of his entire campaign strategy and he had presented it earlier to the Republican National Committee. See {35759}. However, the public who may or may not have believed McAulliffe's accusation in the face of Rove's denial, voted to re-elect the President. However, there was another dirty trick that the Republicans used very successfully–the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. So it is hard to tell which was more effective, but the Democrats were totally outclassed in this election. Ironically, Bush's popularity sunk to record lows in this second term with even many in his own party turning on him. The issue that made people most unhappy with Bush was the essence of Rove's original strategy�the ability to handle the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq properly.
Terence Richard McAuliffe is an American politician and former entrepreneur who served as the 72nd Governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. He was chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005, was co-chair of President Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign and 1997 Presidential inauguration and was chair of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
