Rove’s Sad Legacy

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from Truthdig:


Rove’s Sad Legacy


Posted on Aug 14, 2007
By Eugene Robinson

WASHINGTON—Buh-bye, Karl Rove. On your way out of the White House, don’t let the screen door hit you where the dog should have bit you.

I can’t say that I’ll miss George W. Bush’s longtime political strategist—the man Bush used to call “Boy Genius”—because, well, that would be such a lie. And anyway, to quote one of the great country song titles—“How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?”—I don’t believe for a minute that Rove really intends to withdraw from public life. I predict he’ll be writing op-eds, giving interviews to friendly news outlets and calling Republican presidential candidates to warn them not to abandon Bush, no matter how low his approval ratings slide. Rove’s new job will be to put lipstick on Bush’s hideous legacy—and, in the process, freshen up his own.

Rove’s reputation as the great political thinker of his era took a severe beating last November when, despite his confident predictions of a Republican victory, Democrats took control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

But let’s give the man his due. Karl Rove managed to get George Walker Bush elected president of the United States, not once but twice. OK, you’re right, the first time he needed big assists from Katherine Harris (speaking of lipstick) and the U.S. Supreme Court, but still. Honesty requires the acknowledgement that Rove was very good at what he did.

The problem, of course, is that what Rove did and how he did it were awful for the nation.

Rove announced he was quitting as White House deputy chief of staff in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, saying that while he knew some people would claim he was just trying to elude congressional investigators, “I’m not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases the mob.” That’s the man, right there in that quote: Benighted fools who don’t blindly trust his honesty or fully appreciate his genius are nothing more than “the mob.” ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070814_roves_sad_legacy/