Rove: Palin tour in Iowa 'smart,' but she has to reach outside GOP ranks

GOP strategist Karl Rove doesn't think Sarah Palin's reality show will earn her any points for a presidential run, but said Friday that putting three of her 16 book tour stops in Iowa is "a smart thing to do."

Palin is hitting the road, including in the early presidential state, to promote her new book "America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag."

"It gives her an excuse to be there as something other than a candidate, which is really important," Rove said on Fox News.

"That's a pretty smart move if you're thinking about running for president," he added.

As there's no love lost between the former Alaska governor and President George W. Bush's onetime senior adviser, Rove went on to say that Palin had difficultly expanding beyond a "paint-me-red Republican."

"She's got a problem with independents and a problem with Democrats, and over the course of the next year, like all of the Republican candidates, she's got to demonstrate that she has an ability to unify the Republicans and reach outside the Republican ranks," Rove said.

"I mean, in 1980 this was a key test for President Reagan when he ran for the presidential nomination and he demonstrated he can unify the party and that he had a special appeal outside the Republican Party's so-called Reagan Democrats," he added, stressing that Republicans want to win in 2012 and want a candidate who can draw voters from outside the party.