Reporting Karl Rove: U of Miami J-School Student Gets It Right

Maybe it's because the election is over. Or perhaps the fact that Bush is no longer President. It also might simply be because Miami Hurricane news editor, Chelsea Isaacs, hasn't been sufficiently indoctrinated yet.

Whatever the reason, her recent article about Karl Rove's visit to the University of Miami was surprisingly fair and quoted students who were quite impressed by the erstwhile Evil Genius.

The “campaign architect,” as he is commonly called, built a case against President Barack Obama’s order to close Guantanamo, an overseas CIA detention center where terrorists and other “enemy combatants” are held. Obama’s order could enable terrorists to be tried in U.S. courts, to be given undeserved rights afforded American citizens and could cause damaging long-term effects, Rove said.

“One year from now, Gitmo won’t be closed,” Rove said. “If it is, there will be an uproar in the U.S. about where to put these people.”

Interrogation tactics used by the CIA during Bush’s term in office were not torturous, Rove said, but he did not deny that the CIA strongly pressed terrorists for vital information.

“You bet we squeeze them for information,” Rove said. “If we hadn’t, those same terrorists could have executed their plans to kill, and [people] would be asking why Bush didn’t protect American soldiers’ lives.”

Can you imagine the Washington Post, New York Times or, for that matter, any other college newspaper giving credit to Karl Rove for having successfully "[built] a case" for the Guantanamo detention facility or harsh interrogation of terrorists?

Later in the article, Isaacs reported on an exchange between Rove and the U of Miami's resident dKos parrot.

A heated exchange erupted between Rove and senior Corey Ciorciari, a longtime intern for the Obama campaign. Cioriciari asked about the ethics of using “fear and deception” as governing tactics.

Rove called Ciorciari’s accusation “cynical and callous.”

“Was it creating fear when we got reports that Saddam Hussein stores secret supplies for chemical weapons, that he had a willingness to use destruction, that he was developing and seeking weapons - that he was an imminent threat to the U.S.?” Rove asked. “These are not quotes by Bush. They’re quotes by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Kerry.”

A loud applause erupted from the audience, but Ciorciari was not convinced.

"A Loud applause erupted from the audience." Can you imagine that even being reported by the MSM? Other students quoted by Isaacs are notable simply because they were positive. 

Other students said they appreciated Rove’s honesty.

“I loved it; he was very informative and very honest about his opinions,” said Sgt. Agbeyegbe Jolomi, a junior who served in Iraq for one year. “I’m happy I came to this event.”

And then there was this quote:

“It gave us a new perspective on the Bush administration and the decisions they made,” senior Andrea Whalen said. “If you look at the facts, Bush got an unfair rap. He made a lot of really tough decisions for the best interest of the nation. It was really great when [Rove] finally set the record straight.”

I have but one bit of unsolicited advice for Ms. Isaacs: Don't include this article when you submit your portfolio to the New York Times.

(h/t Kathryn Lopez @ NRO's The Corner)