D-List Congressman Lies About Importance

It seems that in liberal circles, having Karl Rove target you is a badge of honor...even if he doesn't actually, you know, target you:

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Rep. Steve Kagen's congressional campaign claims in a fundraising e-mail that former White House political adviser Karl Rove called him the top target this year — but Rove says he has no recollection of ever saying that.

"Karl Rove has already declared Congressman Steve Kagen their ‥1 candidate to beat in 2008," says the e-mail from the freshman Wisconsin Democrat, who is seeking re-election to his House seat. "That means unlimited special-interest money to pay for their negative campaign.

"In addition to Rove's denial, an Associated Press search of Nexis could find no stories that quote Rove making that comment. Kagen's campaign offered sources, but none provided any solid documentation to back up the assertion.

Rove's answer should have been "Steve who?"

Sadly for the Dems, Rove is gone and is just not the hated man he once was. President Bush continues to work behind the scenes and raise millions and Donald Rumsfeld is raking in money with some private company so they just have no scapegoats left now do they?

I guess "I am the #1 target of Condi Rice" or "Dana Perino is out to get me" just doesn't have the same uniting effect as being the target of a Rovian liquidation plot.

Update: If you can't get Karl Rove to target you, you can just say that the GOP lies in pseudo-debates.