In an interveiw with the Wall Street Journal that comes out today, Karl Rove announced he wil be leaving his position as advisor to the president at the end of the month.
Although he claimed he is doing it for his family (doesn't everyone say that), he also hinted at some other reasons, saying he wanted to leave on his own terms. Perhaps meaning that he survived the CIA leak investigation without being driven from office. Staffers were told if they stayed past Labor Day, they'd have to stay until the end of the president's term.
He left with some predictions for politics through the 2008 elections:
- Bush's ratings would rise as we see more success in Iraq
- Clinton, a "tough, tenacious, totally flawed candidate" will win the primary
- Republicans should focus more on economic issues as the election approaches
Rove has been an aide and advisor to Bush since he ran for governor of Texas in 1993.
Although he attended 4 colleges, Rove never received his degree; he left college to work for the Republican party and on the campaigns of many candidates including: Bush Sr, Phil Gramm and Ronald Reagan. In the Bush White House he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and as head of the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. He is seen as one of the architects of the neocon agenda and was involved in serveral controversies including the disclosure of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative, the aggressive funding of Republican candidates, the firing of several US attorneys, and potentially illegal wiretapping. However, he has rarely had to testify on these issues and has never been found guilty of wrongdoing.
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Comments: 42
The "boogy man" is stepping down! Oh, where will all the bad bile from the left go now that Rove is gone. I almost think the political left is sad to see him go. He was such a good whipping boy for the leftist agnst against the Bush Administration.
BTW, did anyone ever determine who that gay prostitute was visiting in the WH - you know the guy that was planted in the WH press corps?
Incidentally Gary - Politics would be so much more satisfying without the Karl Rove's.
You think Carter took the country down, wait until Hillary. The first think I do if Hillary gets elected is buy a handgun. Why? I don't need one. But because she does't want me own one!
Here's what Senator Patrick Leahy had to say about Rove's oddly timed resignation:
Comment Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,
On The Resignation Of White House Deputy Chief Of Staff Karl Rove
August 13, 2007
"Earlier this month, Karl Rove failed to comply with the Judiciary Committee's subpoena to testify about the mass firings of United States Attorneys. Despite evidence that he played a central role in these firings, just as he did in the Libby case involving the outing of an undercover CIA agent and improper political briefings at over 20 government agencies, Mr. Rove acted as if he was above the law. That is wrong. Now that he is leaving the White House while under subpoena, I continue to ask what Mr. Rove and others at the White House are so desperate to hide. Mr. Rove's apparent attempts to manipulate elections and push out prosecutors citing bogus claims of voter fraud shows corruption of federal law enforcement for partisan political purposes, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its investigation into this serious issue.
"The list of senior White House and Justice Department officials who have resigned during the course of these congressional investigations continues to grow, and today, Mr. Rove added his name to that list. There is a cloud over this White House, and a gathering storm. A similar cloud envelopes Mr. Rove, even as he leaves the White House."
# # # # #
Clark, I think your right, fire up that barby.
What I find myself worrying about is the precedent this sets with both parties. Will the tactics he used now be seen as fair game for everyone since he was able to get away with it?
I don't for an instant believe he's not going to have his thumb in the pie somewhere.
I am not particularly fond of Hillary to be honest, but if she's giving the right wing such nightmares, there has to be something about her campaign and positions I am missing.
On a completely different topic: I saw the funniest bumper sticker today. While I heard about it before, this is the first one I have actually seen. It says: Will someone please give the guy a blowjob so we can impeach him?
Found the bumper sticker on cafe press --- and some other ones too!
Keith, you might want to actually learn something, so I would suggest stepping away from your life-size Mount Rushie Doll and go see it also.
As far as Rove goes, I believe he will join forces with Romney or Giuliani to try and keep the conservative agenda train rolling.
Funny comment about the dress though. I laughed out loud.
I'm curious, why do YOU think Rove quit?
And be honest, do you really think that Rove, Abramoff, Delay, Gonzales are just innocently "following policy"? I mean, come on, it can't be the media spin is the only reason these people look bad in the eyes of most Americans.
You can't possibly believe that liberals would screw up domestic policy, health care and foreign policy but the conservatives have AND would continue to do everything right? You can't possibly believe that your party is right about everything, RIGHT?
Give me something, throw me a bone!
Dig deep into your heart man and tell me what we agree on!!
The simple truth is Conservatives have isolated themselves from the rest of the world and have always self-proclaimed themselves as "judge and jury".
Unfortunately, they have NEVER had a good record of CIVIL RIGHTS. This has ALWAYS categorized conservatives as racists, sexists, bigots, money-oriented, overtly religious, biased, and extremely partisan. I can cite many examples if you would like.
Now, there are a lot of people who consider themselves conservative, but I would bet if they actually studied a little history, they would come to realize that conservative thinking has discriminated against almost every race and gender.
Now, how can conservative leaders create, implement, and foster communal, mutual and diplomatic foreign policy when they have constantly shown contempt, arrogance and condescension for almost every culture throughout history?
How can they claim to have the COUNTRY'S best interest at heart when this country was created and shaped with the very cultures that conservatives have struggled with?