Karl Rove pulls old political trick

>>> tonight, we know which lecture agency hillary clinton has signed up with, so that she can do her part in the family business , speaking for money. she joined the oldest of them all, the harry walker agency founded by harry walker in 1946 , in new york city and run by his family ever since. it is the same agency that processes the lecture fees for bill clinton , full disclosure note, they have processed lectures for me over the years, all of which now go to the kind fund. we also know tonight just how much karl rove hates president obama . i mean, hates him. rove is now employing the old political trick of making his hatred not seem partisan by praising a democrat in his attacks on the president.

>> i would like to try my hand at answering your first question, though. would hillary have made a better president? and i think the answer --

>> keep it brief.

>> yeah, i'll keep it brief. first of all, yeah, i think so. she would have had a necessary naive view of the world. she is more hard-headed. we've seen that when she was secretary of state. she said you can't just say that about libya, you have to do something about libya. secondly, i think she would have had the recognition you have to get engaged, you can't simply out-source it to congress. third, she would have been more experienced, was first lady for eight years and was actively involved in the policy side of the white house . she would have been more bipartisan. you look at the record in the senate. she went out of her way, in part because of armed services but in part because of her interest to have bipartisan efforts across the aisles on big issues.

>> joining me now, ana - marie cox. and currently working on a book about the tenure of secretary of state, ana - marie , karl rove has an amazing awe and respect, suddenly for hillary clinton . awe, as far as i can tell, is a device for attacking the president.

>> yes, i think that is totally the case. i am not sure if my eyes can roll back far enough in my head to show the eye-rolling -- at this. and it is just to laugh at this. i mean, basically, you know he imbedded all of these criticisms of obama in his praise of hillary, the naivete, it is so shocking, i am surprised the audience didn't laugh out loud . even if you're on the bipartisan side of rove, it is a blatant ploy. i doubt if she runs he will say this then. he doesn't mind doing the double speak and going back on his word.

>> i love the bit about her being actively involved in white house policy when she was first lady. that of course, became the the health care .

>> i think she would have surrounded herself with a broader range of people. the clintons strike me as collectors of people. they're always collecting interesting people and keep them in their orbit. and it is not just sort of i'm surrounded by my chicago pals who think i'm the greatest thing, all i have to do is make another speech. i know that bill felt she was more qualified. hillary clinton is the most qualified person to seek the presidency. in 39 years. now how he came up with 39 years is beyond me. and look, bill, don't you understand that that means you are saying she is more qualified than you are.

>> johnathan allen, i love the idea of more qualified people and broader range of people when bill clinton , when he used that model he chose one of his elementary school classmates as white house chief of staff in the first go-around. i am sorry i'm having ana - ana - marie 's problem of keeping a straight face. is this a technique we should expect more later? when will he turn against hillary clinton ? as she starts to make moves towards the presidency?

>> yeah, pull out your wall calendar on that one. karl rove 's job is to divide the democratic party . that is clearly the role here. hillary clinton has approval ratings that are sky high right now. one reason for that is at the end of the 2008 campaign, another cable station became sort of a fan of hillary clinton 's as she was running against barack obama , he being the hated one. she being the suddenly acceptable democrat. look, you would rather attach yourself if you're karl rove , to somebody popular than somebody who is not. a lot of republicans in researching this book in doing interviews say they like hillary clinton a lot better than barack obama , of course that is intended as part as praise for her. but also a slam towards him, this is not new.

>> and ana - marie , the point is not to attack hillary clinton . it is just that rove is using her as this convenient device. and this thing is, he need not reach back to her first lady days, to the days where you can say no, no, no, that is not where you have examples. it would be in her senate career and the role as secretary of state. if he is going to praise her role as secretary of state, he would in effect be praising president obama . and he can't allow himself to do that.

>> that is right, and also i recall there was an upset at this other cable station that shall not be named about her tenure of secretary of state about benghazi. so he is being very disingenuous in his praise, although we can be in ours. she did a fantastic job as secretary of state, ran a campaign that she is proud of. that is notable about her, as well. let's look at who she praises, who she aligned himse eed herself with the president. that is where her loyalty lies. she wouldn't put up with this kind of stuff from karl rove . she is not putting up with that either. these are crocodile tears .

>> let's look at somebody who may run as president of the united states ?

>> will i or won't i? i do not literally know the answer to the questions, what is the best role for me to play to fix the country. the point is i don't know the answer. i'm not putting a great deal of thought into it. i not foreclosing any opportunity, right now, we've just had an election and have jobs to do.

>> jonathan allen , what are the odds? clinton-ryan?

>> i think they're one to one. if hillary clinton runs, we all thought she was the inevitable candidate in 2008 , and we're proved wrong. but certainly she would start out as a huge frontrunner, nobody else on the democratic side. so really it is a question if paul ryan can get through. i would say james garfield , the only sitting house member ever elected president.

>> and jonathan, he is also up against the viewers. the history, doing the television age that the losing vice presidential candidate always goes on to never be president. ana - marie cox, and jonathan allen , thank you very much.