Rove tips hat to Democrat imitators

If Barack Obama wins the presidential election, it will be because he has beaten the Republicans at their own game, according to Karl Rove, the "architect" of George W. Bush's two victories.

The Democrats have copied Rove's formidable tactics and ground operation, pumping out a disciplined message, assembling a broad-based coalition that includes young first-time voters and African-Americans and drowning their Republican opponents with money.

"I've got to tell you, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Rove said in an interview. "I can say, I'm deeply flattered."

Rove recalled how Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, outlined their electoral strategy at the Democratic convention in August: "He explicitly said we have deliberately copied the army of persuasion of the Republicans."

The results can be seen in the long queues for early voting in western and southern states, which could herald the dawn of "Obamaland": Democratic control of the White House, the Senate and House of Representatives - offering the Illinois senator the chance to shape the nation for a generation.

"If the US really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting," The Wall Street Journal commented. It listed universal healthcare, greater regulation of business and industry, the restoration of union power and substantially higher taxes as likely consequences.

The "precriminations" among Republicans are already under way, with accusations flying inside John McCain's campaign about the wisdom of choosing the charismatic but flawed Sarah Palin as his running mate.

The revelation that the Republican National Committee spent about $US150,000 ($242,000) on Palin's designer wardrobe, $US36,000 on her make-up artist and $US19,000 on her hairdresser has detracted from the Alaska Governor's folksy, moose-hunting image.

On the road, however, she continues to hold McCain's ramshackle campaign together, galvanising voters who would like to see her run for president in 2012 if the Arizona senator is defeated.

Rove believes Palin, 44, remains "an enormous plus" for the party. However, he believes she will need to raise her game if she wants to be seen as a leader.

"When you're fresh and new, people make allowances for you," he said. "If you're a first-time candidate, you are not expected to know the name of South Ossetia or Abkhazia. When you come back on the stage, you're expected to have a higher degree of sophistication, knowledge and ability."

A number of Obamacons - Republicans for Obama - have been lining up behind the Democrat alongside former secretary of state Colin Powell since he criticised McCain's judgment and selection of Palin.

Rove believes McCain, 72, can confound his critics and emerge the victor if he hammers Obama on the threat of higher taxes and national security, two areas of traditional weakness for Democrats. "Wanting to raise taxes - anyone's taxes - in a slowdown is a warning sign of a misguided economic philosophy," Rove commented recently.

The electoral map on Rove's own website shows pivotal states such as Ohio, Virginia and Colorado, which voted for Bush in 2004, tumbling to Obama. According to his projection, if the election were held tomorrow, Obama would win 306 electoral college votes to McCain's 171, with 61 too close to call.

Nearly a million people have cast their votes in Georgia and more than 600,000 in Florida. It could be a sign of a coming "electoral tsunami" for Obama, according to Rove - or merely proof that reliable voters have cast their ballots early.

In North Carolina, formerly a solidly Republican state, 210,000 African-Americans registered as Democrats have already voted, compared with a total of 174,000 registered Republicans of all races. Blacks have made up 31 per cent of early voters so far, even though they form 21 per cent of the population.