Ok, big question today…..Who will control the weather now?
Karl Rove, President Bush’s longtime political adviser, is resigning as White House deputy chief of staff effective Aug. 31, and returning to Texas, marking a turning point for the Bush presidency.
Mr. Rove’s departure removes one of the White House’s most polarizing figures, and perhaps signals the effective end of the lame duck administration’s role in shaping major domestic policy decisions, where the former Texas political consultant was a driving force. Mr. Rove revealed his plans in an interview with Paul Gigot, editor of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page.
Mr. Rove, who has held senior posts in the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001, told Mr. Gigot he first floated the idea of leaving a year ago. But he delayed his departure as, first, Democrats took Congress, and then as the White House tackled debates on immigration and Iraq, he said. He said he decided to leave after White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told senior aides that if they stayed past Labor Day they would be obliged to remain through the end of the president’s term in January 2009.
"I just think it’s time," Mr. Rove said in the interview. "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." Mr. Rove and his wife have a home in Ingram, Texas, and a son who attends college in nearby San Antonio.
So we can expect to see a sappy, sentimental introspective from the networks anytime right?
Yeah….
Many are speculating that he will latch on to another candidate in the Presidential election, I’m not so sure. He sounds like he needs a vacation, some time with his family. Probably burned out.
But as we all know, it’s hard to do nothing for long. Next summer he may very well be on someone campaign.
It’s interesting that he wanted to leave a year ago but didn’t want to exit the White House just as the midterms were in full swing. That’s a mark of someone who does not want to leave on his back, but instead on his own two feet swinging.
What about those who say he’s leaving to avoid Congressional scrutiny? "I know they’ll say that," he says, "But I’m not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases the mob." He also knows he’ll continue to be a target, even from afar, since belief in his influence over every Administration decision has become, well, faith-based.
"I’m a myth. There’s the Mark of Rove," he says, with a bemused air. "I read about some of the things I’m supposed to have done, and I have to try not to laugh." He says the real target is Mr. Bush, whom many Democrats have never accepted as a legitimate president and "never will."
Good luck Mr. Rove. You done good.
Good luck Karl. You’ve instilled absolute fear and paranoia in the minds of moonbats everywhere, and that’s a good thing. Surely we must now wonder…who WILL control the weather?
Thank you Karl for a job well done as evidenced not only by your accomplishments but by the long loud roar of the moonbats the last seven years.
Rove’s legacy is sort of a mixed bag.
Good results in 2000, 2002 and 2004. But the game plan fell apart in 2006.
The technical side of things (organization), which Rove mastered, fell apart because the base was weakened by the “new tone” which simply meant compromise with Democrats who still turned and stabbed us all in the back.
Rove’s great goal of achieving an historic political realignment for Republicans failed because Rove sometimes forgot who the President’s friends were and wasted too much effort reaching out to people who were not likely to vote for us anyway.
Still, he performed well in a difficult job and served the President admirably. He’ll be missed and I hope he continues to work on his goals of building the party after he leaves office.