Karl Rove will leave George Bush’s side this month one of the most controversial political figures in living memory. The verdict on his legacy will be similarly conflicted: He can claim credit for political victories of historic proportions, but also stands accused of policy failures and a strategy of divisiveness.
He expressed little regret and defended what many Republicans consider his most questionable decisions: pursuing a strategy that divided the country and provided little margin for error; trying to overhaul Social Security when his party did not want to; and pushing Bush to draw sharp lines on foreign policy and accuse Democrats of dangerous shortcoming on national security.
Rove will soon be gone — but it will be a long time before he is forgotten. One can not overstate how
much Democrats loathe Rove and desperately want him dragged into numerous congressional investigations of the Bush White House. House and Senate Democrats are trying to force his testimony in the firing of U.S. attorneys. There is much more to come, Democrats tell The Politico.
WASHINGTON POST: “Karl Rove, a political adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush and a lightning rod for anger among Democrats, will leave the White House at the end of this month, Rove told the Wall Street Journal. “I just think it’s time,” Rove said in an interview with the newspaper published on Monday. “There’s always something that can keep you here, and as much as I’d like to be here, I’ve got to do this for the sake of my family.”
NEW YORK TIMES: Outdoor Ice Skating Rink Set To Open In Hell
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60 MINUTES: Nixon’s C.R.E.E.P.s
Dan Rather at the top of his game and, at the 5:38 mark, a young, lanky and long-haired Karl Rove.