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August 13, 2007
Bye, Bye, Karl
Ladies and gentlemen, Svengali is exiting the stage. Karl Rove, architect of two presidential election victories for George W. Bush (well, we'd argue one - there was that little Florida controversy in 2000), is hanging up his political spurs.
"Bush's Brain" gave rise to strategy and tactics that yielded short-term gain for Republicans, and hinted at his party's possible longer-term ascendence, but the permanent GOP majority he sought to build is now arguably farther away than anytime since Ronald Reagan left the White House. We believe Rove deserves as much blame for the Republican Party's current woes as he does credit for its past successes.
Karl Rove is undeniably brilliant. His encyclopedic knowledge of voting data and historical precedent, as well as a nose for finding holes in an opponent's supposed strongest selling points made him a formidable campaign adversary. But there's also no denying Rove's methods succeeded in driving voter turnout down, polarizing the country, and alltogether disaffecting many Americans from the political process. These results will make up at least as much of his legacy as his many electoral victories.
Undoubtedly, speculation as to the timing of his departure will run rampant in the coming days. Count us among those who suspect that continuing (and possibly worsening) legal troubles may lie at the heart of the matter, but that's just a hunch. We'll have to wait and see what, if anything, comes of current -- and maybe future -- investigations.
Karl Rove will read and studied by devotees of political warfare for many years to come. He will not, in our judgment, be missed.
Posted by houtopia at August 13, 2007 06:23 PM