If your are reading this you are likely quite familiar with the name Karl Rove. Even though Joe American might not be able to tell you who he is, most who are even slightly intrigued by the political world know that he has been called everything from "Bush's Brain" to the "Evil Genius" to the "Heart and Soul of the Republican Party". While I would disagree with most of those descriptions, it is nonetheless true that Karl Rove will long be seen as the single greatest political mind of this decade.
For those who might not be familiar with Uncle Karl, here's a quick and dirty recap: an attendee of many colleges (but a graduate of none), Rove was a political powerhouse from his earliest adult days. He rose through the ranks of the College Republicans to become their president and earned the reputation for being a power player (and sometimes a dirty one at that). His political resume was rather scant. He ran a direct mail business out of Texas. It was through that business that he developed one of the largest network of political connections the world has ever seen. One of those connections who gave him several of his breaks was the rising star blue-blood WWII hero named George Bush. Through his relationship with the Elder Bush, Rove met the younger and found him to be the most charismatic man he had ever met. Bush the Younger would from then on become the product, and Rove the salesman. Fast forward to 2007, and despite the President's very low aproval ratings, there he sits as a two-term president. He would not be there if not for Karl Rove.
Rove is not just a political genius, but by all accounts he is one of the smartest people one could ever meet. He doesn't just develop political taglines, but he masters policy on many levels and uses that knowledge to create political leverage. He is an uber-manager. During the 2004 race he was able to develop a nation-wide plan for voter registration in one three hour plane ride. That same task took the Kerry campaign four days. And his quality was better. Dang.Despite his exploits, and despite the fact that the Democrats have, for six years, openly been asking "where is our Karl Rove", he suffers from a great deal of non-respect. He can be ruthless, calculating, hardballing, and the like. In fact, he can be downright mean. Why would a genuinely nice guy like President Bush have such a hard nose guy on his staff? Simple. He wins elections (yes, 2006 was Rove's worst moment, but to have a string of elections that were easily losable like 2000, 2002, and 2004, and yet to win, is more than remarkable).
Before the Midterm we heard the President saying things like "those who want out of Iraq are defeatists" or "those who want to pull out want a weak America" or "the Democrats are the party of defeat" or the famous "the Democrats are the party of 'cut and run'".
Now that rhetoric is gone. Now, even yesterday, President Bush has his team go out and support Nancy Pelosi against the GOP's attack dogs. He has been more than cordial to her. He has been openly kind and flattering. He went before the Democratic National Committee and was kind, conciliatory, and respectful.
What is the difference between October 2006 and February 2007?
Answer: Karl Rove. President Bush is done with elections. The "Evil Genius" is not needed in the Bush camp any more. That's not to say that he is not there or that he has no impact. 43 is loyal to a fault and will keep Rove as a close friend and confidant until the end. But his impact is less. President Bush can be President Bush. He does not have to take Rove's advice. He does not have to slash and burn. Bush is free to be the kind and respectful man everyone (including the Left media) says he is behind closed doors.
The Rove style may be out of the White House. Rove will almost certainly land on someone else's team for 2008, but for now Bush can be Bush. He does not have to play the games of Rove.
5 comments:
Thank goodness that he is gone. Rove is so much of what the people he rallied despises. He is very manipulative, he will do anything to win, and he is always right. If indeed GW is a kind and respectable man, what a horrible choice to have Rove on his team.
--JW
If Rove was a Democrat you'd be howling about his underhanded tactics, political rhetoric and manipulation of our soundbite-driven media. As it is, you can barely bring yourself to say that he's "mean." This is a man that had a big part in selling a preemtive invasion, assassinating John McCain's character, outing a CIA agent and just generally bringing the level of discourse in Washinton down two or three notches. I can understand the affection a dyed-in-the-wool Republican would have for Rove, but for all your talk of statesmanship I thought you would be a little harder on him, especially when you refer to John Edwards as "dangerous."
I hope the Democrats never have a Rove. If they win it should be on the strength of their ideas, not on the manupulative political skill of their strategists.
Danny and JW,
Thank you both for your comments. Based on them I went back and re-read the post to see if I had somehow defended his tactics. I'm pretty sure I did not.
Had the point of my post been to assess the impact Karl Rove has had on political discourse and the state of politics, I certainly would have come down harder on him. Today's post was to offer an explanation as to why President Bush seems to be so cordial to the Democrats now, while just a few months ago every time he spoke of them he had his guns a'blazing.
Even though no one is really talking about it, I think (and this was the point of my post) one of the main reasons is that Karl Rove has a significantly diminished role in light of the fact that there are no more elections ahead for Team Bush. I am planning a larger post about Rove and his impact. Danny, hopefully you will see that I am not a member of his fan club. All the background in the post was an effort to establish an understanding of his position and how he gained such importance so that we can draw a distinction between the Rove-driven rhetoric and the Bush-driven rhetoric. The point was not to somehow hold him up as a model anyone should follow.
I agree with you, JW, that Rove is manipulative and willing to do anything to win.
I also agree with you, danny, in that I hope the Democrats never have a Rove. I would add that I hope the GOP never has another like him.
I would also ask you to consider that you may have read your hatred for Rove into this post. You say I should have been harder on him, and I respond that you would be right if I were assessing his impact. There will be a time for that, this just wasn't it.
Right on, thanks for straightening that out. I look forward to seeing more of what you have to say about him. I don't hate him. I think he's harmed America and the less power he has in Washington, the better. But I don't personally hate him.
I look forward to reading your further thoughts on K. Rove. I stumbled upon your blogg, and though I probably differ w/ you on many things, I find it interesting.
--JW
Post a Comment