Karl Rove to resign
He won’t be frog-marched out of the White House, but the man the president affectionately refers to as “Turd Blossom” is stepping down.
Karl Rove, U.S. President George W. Bush’s senior political adviser, will voluntarily step down from his White House post at the end of the month, senior administration officials said Monday.
Rove, who has held a top position in the White House since Bush took office in January 2001, is to stand down on August 31.
“I just think it’s time,” Rove told the Wall Street Journal. “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.”
Rove, who reportedly raised the possibility of resigning a year ago, will apparently return to Texas, and is unlikely to ever run another presidential campaign.
Rove gave the big scoop to Paul Gigot, the far-right editorial page editor of the WSJ, who wrote a detailed editorial on Rove’s role in Bush’s presidency today. In the piece, which I believe is unavailable to non-subscribers, Rove makes a variety of predictions, including a Bush poll resurgence, improved conditions in Iraq, a “fissure” among Dems, and Hillary Clinton losing the 2008 presidential election.
He concedes that the timing of his resignation may look odd, given that he’s departing after having been subpoenaed. “I know they’ll say that,” Rove says, “But I’m not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases the mob.”
There will be plenty to say in the coming days about Rove’s work in the White House and role as the president’s “architect,” but I’d argue that most of the intrigue surrounding Rove is a myth. The man has developed a reputation as something of a gifted political savant, whose keen insights are unparalleled in the modern political era.
I think that’s nonsense.
Rove’s genius has always been exaggerated to the point of comedy. In 2000, he pulled out all the stops to help Bush win the New Hampshire GOP primary, where McCain won by double digits. On Election Day 2000, it was Rove’s idea to keep his candidate in California in the waning days, instead of campaigning in key battleground states. Bush lost California by a wide margin, and Rove’s strategy practically cost his candidate the election. More recently, Rove’s single recent responsibility was overseeing the Republican Party’s 2006 election strategy — and Dems won back both chambers of Congress in a historic victory.
No, Rove’s legacy has nothing to do with his so-called strategic brilliance. His significance has everything to do with his cutthroat, win-at-all-cost style. Rove believes the political rule that there are no rules. Laws are meant to be broken. Scandals are meant to be covered up. Enemies are meant to be destroyed. The key to electoral success is to tear the country in half and see who comes out with the bigger chunk.
Moreover, Rove helped usher in an unprecedented approach to executive-branch governing — one in which the line between policy and politics no longer exists. Every agency, every official, every decision was a political opportunity to be exploited, laws and ethics be damned.
When history looks back at the disgrace of the Bush presidency, the one celebrated quote that will help capture much of what went wrong will be John DiIulio’s. It was DiIulio, the first director of the president’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, who told Ron Suskind, “What you’ve got is everything — and I mean everything — being run by the political arm. It’s the reign of the Mayberry Machiavellis.”
This was Rove’s idea, and it was Rove’s job to execute the strategy. He’ll be leaving the White House in a few weeks, but his place in history is secure. That’s not a compliment.
Agreed, CB. It is odd that he received so much credit for the various “successes” of his career, much the way a boxer who hits the below the belt can rack up victory after victory if he is allowed to get away with it. Playing dirty works.
Is he going to quietly fade away into the polluted Texas sunset? I doubt it. He’s got so many strings attached to his fingers he’ll be compelled to keep pulling on some of them.
This can’t be a get-out-of-subpoena-free card, can it? Why does that get hinted in the news stories?
I know it is petty but, way to start the week!
Of course Bush will still suck mightly as president and will likely to still be talking to Rove regularly but still, at least he isn’t on the federal pay roll anymore. I guess now I get to see how Rove will get paid for his “genius” after Bush.
So Karl “the Gravekeeper” Rove resigns in disgrace, for the “sake of” his “family.” What a lame joke.
Of course, the rest of the non-Koolaid-drinking world is left to theorize as to the real reason why he resigned.
One obvious reason is that Fred Fielding decided that it would be best for Karl to go. But still, why? Congressional subpoenas? We all know those do not have a legal basis anymore since King George said so.
In addition, another reason that KKKarl might be jumping ship is to help Mitler steal the 2008 election (I heard a time back that Rove has connections to Romney) –and he’ll need it, what with Mitten’s $2000 per vote performance at the Iowa Straw Poll, just to muster 31.5% of the vote.
What else could it be? Maybe he is just selfishly leaving Washington, D.C. because he knows something that we don’t –like the date of the next mass-terrorism attack. He is the Gravekeeper after all.
This says something about the administration’s end game, though I’m not sure what. I get a feeling we are getting our first glimpse of something swirling around at the White House. Has there been a fissure between Rove and Bush? Has Bush completley tuned out and is basically coasting through the rest of his term? Did Cheney win another coup? Does this help keep him out of jail? I imagine Rove is a bit depressed about the fact that not even his math shows his permanent Republican majority is possible, and the attorney firings demonstrated elections have consequences, and he will no longer be able to pull the same old shenannigans.
I can buy what you’re saying, Steve, about Rove becoming a mythical figure. I think the term “Rove” has become shorthand for the Machiavellian politics that Republicans had been employing so effectively. It stems from the utter disbelief that these guys could get away with so much for so long. I mean, what short of cynical genius could get someone so clearly out-of-their-league like Bush given the most powerful position in the country? Then after clearly demonstrating their incompetence, to exploit fear, partisanship and patriotism so effectively to get the boob re-elected? We don’t see how this can be, unless someone has a greater grasp of America’s character flaws than we do.
Karl Rove has a family???
Whaddaya know. A wife (#2) and son. Here I thought he was part of the Gay Mafia within the White House.
Hardly part of the gay mafia. According to today’s 365gay.com
I think it’s telling Rove refers to his collective bosses, we the taxpayers and our representatives in Congress, as “the mob.” It shows the mentality these elitists have had since Cheney, and his employee Bush, have had since they stole the election in 2000.
Good riddance! Now on to Cheney!
I wonder if his leaving town makes it harder for Congress to get him using Inherent Contempt ?
Screw Rove. Who gives a shit? When he’s twisting over an open flame with an apple in his mouth, call me. Don’t look back people. Look ahead…
The nominees will be Clinton and Romney. We need to start tearing down Romney now. The first like of attack- “one term governor of a small state- inexperienced governor JUST LIKE BUSH.” Also- he’s a “Flip Floper” on social issues.
There are other, less savory ways to plant the seeds of doubt about Romney. We’ll get to those…
Don’t kid yourself, Obama people. Your choice is Clinton or Romney. Get on board and get to work. Don’t waste time.
Good Riddance! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
Good comments and theories by all as usual. I doubt it is about Congressional investigations. I doubt it is about a split with the big Dick. Rove knows so much the only way to ensure Bush is protected is to have Karl whacked. Unless they are about to dump all the responsibility on Karl and hang him out to dry they need him fat and happy.
My question is about the political future of the White House. Rove was the political puppet master. What is W’s plan for the next 15 months? Does he roll over on many of his retarded political positions to improve the political standing of the GOP for 2008? Will he just spend the remaining months on vacation in Crawford?
All I know is that I am glad Karl is leaving and hope he never comes back. Let’s just hope his slash and burn style has not inflicted permanent damage on the US political system.
He resigned to spend more time with is attorneys.
You must have an incredibly liberal view of what constitutes far-right to label Gigot as such.
Why do I get the feeling that CB wrote this post a while ago and was just itchin’ to put it up some day?
😉
It is, naturally, dead on.
What’s depressing is that the Rovian Strategy worked and won a lot of elections.
What’s even more depressing is how horrible that strategy worked when it came to actual governance—it was simply too fraudulent, too intellectually void, and too morally bankrupt.
Too bad too few people saw that back in 2000 …
“Rovian” is likely to replace “Machiavellian” in the American political dictionary for a few decades. Quite an accomplishment.
Bush the Younger probably never would have been elected to anything without Rove’s help. But Rove also played a large part in making young Bush the worst president ever. Life is like that – your strength can be your undoing without the wisdom to manage it, and no one ever accused Bush of wisdom.
We’ll never know the whole story about why Rove is leaving the White House. He’s a rat deserting a sinking ship? He lost a policy battle with Cheney? He fell out of favor with Bush because of serial policy disasters? His days have been numbered ever since the November elections? Or, laughably, he wants to spend more time with his family? This is a man consumed with politics, and it’s hard to believe that he ever gave more than a passing thought to his family before now.
When I woke up this morning, the first thing I heard was Cokie Roberts on NPR talking about Rove’s resignation. My thought – “I gotta go read The Carpetbagger Report.”
To John Gibson @ #14:
Can you name a few people (other than perhaps yourself) who are to the right of Paul Gigot, or to the right of the Wall Street Journal editorial page which he edits?
I didn’t think so. Far Right describes him perfectly.
Good riddance. I hope he’s tying up loose ends because an indictment is in the pipeline. One can dream.
Don’t kid yourself, Obama people. Your choice is Clinton or Romney. Get on board and get to work. Don’t waste time. -Haik Bedrosian
I grow weary of your cheer leading. Give it a rest, Monica.
Left to spend more time with his family of the undead.
Just what Texas needs, another criminal.
All I want to know–and this has been hinted at in the posts above, is–what does this mean for Rove’s various subpoenas toward ongoing investigations?
It was amazing for me to see that other former employees of this White House were able to hide under the ‘executive privilege’ umbrella, but can Karl do so now, too?
I still don’t fully understand the rationale for Miers and Ralston not being ‘able’ to either not even show up or, in the case of Ralston, show up with a bucketload of ‘I don’t recalls’ due to this privilege nonsense (i.e., they are no longer employed, so the ‘unfettered advice’ gambit rings hollow)–but why can’t (or is it won’t?) Congress now go after this misanthrope with even more vigor now?
This guy just can’t be allowed to walk into a cushy life of some AEI ‘scholar’ or other obfuscative hate America ‘think-tank.’
If Americans are “the mob,” then Rove is a big rat that’s jumping a sinking ship.
Rove, who reportedly raised the possibility of resigning a year ago, will apparently return to Texas, and is unlikely to ever run another presidential campaign.
Huh. Well, maybe not. But I don’t buy the idea he’s quitting because of scandals, skullduggery or upcoming indictments. He’s beaten all of ’em so far and I’m quite certain he thinks he can beat any future ones.
That “unlike to ever run another campaign” notwithstanding, I’m guessing he’s looking to drop out of sight for a while before resurfacing as head of campaign staff for one of the GOP front runners. My money would be on Fred Thompson.
…Rove’s strategy practically cost his candidate the election
It did cost him the election. It just didn’t cause him the presidency.
SF
My guess is that Rove was pushed. This is suggested to me by the fact that the Atlantic Monthly has a story this month by Josh Green on how the failures of the Bush presidency belong to Rove. The lede for that story With more than a year left in the fading Bush presidency, Karl Rove’s worst days in the White House may still lie ahead of him., portends trouble for Turd Blossom. My first thought when I read some excerpts from the article was that someone or some faction has the long knives out for Boy Genius. And it appears that a knife is now stuck firmly in his back.
Whose hand is on that knife? I’d put my money on Fred Fielding.
Out! Damned [turd] spot!
If, as the article claims, he is leaving because Bolten told senior staffers they’d have to get out by Labor Day or stay until the bitter end, I suspect this is the first of many rats leaving the sinking ship.
Texas’ misfortune will be our gain. However, I’ll believe that he’s out of politics when I see the dirt being piled on his casket.
Sadly, this probably does make politicians less interested in going after him. Although I do see the benefits in looking forwards rather than backward, I think that this administration should not be allowed to go quietly into the sunset, but should be hounded with investigations and prosecutions for a decade or so after they leave office, and then be turned over to the Hague for war crimes investigations.
I liked one of your thoughts in particular, but I’d modify it slightly: Rove’s key to electoral success was to tear the country in half as soon as he thought that doing so would leave his side with the bigger chunk.
“I just think it’s time,” Rove told the Wall Street Journal. “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.”
This is nicely put, but I think there’s certainly something else behind it. I don’t think it’s a subpoena-related firing. I think Rove will probably be phoning it in and that his esteem with the White House is secure.
Rove is now like a dead mouse inside a wall. Altough he’s gone, the stink will be with us for a long, long time.
Rove’s genius has always been exaggerated to the point of comedy. In 2000, he pulled out all the stops to help Bush win the New Hampshire GOP primary, where McCain won by double digits. On Election Day 2000, it was Rove’s idea to keep his candidate in California in the waning days, instead of campaigning in key battleground states. Bush lost California by a wide margin, and Rove’s strategy practically cost his candidate the election.
Yeah, I think his rep is exaggerated, and that’s been made a weapon in his strategic arsenal. But he’s still a major player at the game and writing off the fact that he does things effectively often (or at least did before he stopped being successful) becomes a way for liberal political types to rest on their laurels. Nobody can win with everything working against them, and this is what happened to Karl. Perhaps he and everyone else thought he could still win against very long odds, or perhaps he just knew that he had to keep fighting as a loyal soldier even when the odds were tough, and projecting a mean dismeanor (trying to appear confident) was part of fighting the battle. But dismissing Karl Rove’s talent helps us about as much as the idiot’s writing off the genius’ intelligence in grade school does, I think. In the short run, it can help us psycholgically. In the long run, at least not privately acknowledging it and trying to be similarly successful (I am not at all advocating adopting any specific tactic Rove has promoted or used) hurts us.
Interesting story on The Rove Presidency from this month’s Atlantic.
Keep an eye on him. I don’t think he’s as tarnished as you might think. He’s still got a lot of ears in the media. Watch to see if he joins one of the current rethug candidates campaigns next month. Rove was bad in the Whitehouse, but he’s much more dangerous on the campaign trail. (more at my blog)
Rove makes a variety of predictions, including a Bush poll resurgence, improved conditions in Iraq, a “fissure” among Dems, and Hillary Clinton losing the 2008 presidential election.
And here is the reason he’s leaving. Is this the same “Math” he said meant the Rethugs would win in 2006?
Everybody’s favorite Freshman Flunkout can go rot in hell. I hope he dies a lingering, painful death, alone in the dark and the cold, of a socially-unacceptable disease.
Of course Rove will end up on top. He’s a lying, cheating felon. And a friend of bush.
I would love to see KKKarl in the slammer where he belongs (for outing Valerie Plame Wilson among other things), but I look for him to show up at some conservative think tank, foisting more damage on America.
As for the “for the sake of my family” crap, Joe americablog headlines his post: “Rove is quitting for his family — after helping to destroy so many American families”. How true.
14. On August 13th, 2007 at 9:47 am, John Gibson said:
You must have an incredibly liberal view of what constitutes far-right to label Gigot as such.
And you must be an incredibly idiotic moron.
Far right? Kinda like Hillary is the far-left I guess. Muhahahahaha
You’re all wrong, Rove has seen the light, he wants to set things right before he meets his maker and is leaving to write a tell all book on the Bush administration, from stealing the election in 2000, to faked Terrorist scares in 2004 to steamrolling the Dems into voting for the FISA bill, he’s going to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help him God!
Damn, I’m a funny guy, aye?
“The key to electoral success is to tear the country in half and see who comes out with the bigger chunk.”
A brilliant, evocative statement that reminds me of Molly Ivins, who I really miss at times like these. One can only imagine her obituary for Rove’s career.
No, he was not the genius he was often described as, but I would have thought he could have thought up something a little more original than the spend time with my family cliche. His only child is in college and he’s resigning just before the start of the fall semester? Not that we expect truth from the turd no matter what the subject.
The one thing that concerns me is that next year we will see a lot more of Rove, not less. Aside from the inevitable, over-hyped, under-facted memoir, if he doesn’t get some big political commentary gig on one of the news networks for the 2008 election season, I’ll eat my trackball. Hopefully it will just be Fox News where he will be speaking to an entrenched choir, but I bet CNN, ABS and others make him offers as well.
I wasn’t always this cynical.
Great post here: http://averagebro.blogspot.com/2007/08/goodbye-and-good-riddance-karl-rove.html
I predict that Rove will be appointed professor at Georgetown University. Although Rove does not have a college degree, he will teach at GU. This confirms the old saying that whenever the White House flushes a toilet, Georgetown University acquires a new professor of whatever. What a joke!