WP, pg1: Fall Elections Are Rove's Next Test

Fall Elections Are Rove's Next Test
Reputation as Architect of Victory at Stake
By Jim VandeHei and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 17, 2006; Page A01

White House political strategist Karl Rove emerges from the CIA leak case with his reputation scuffed, his power slightly diminished, and Republicans counting on him, once again, to help rescue their House and Senate majorities.

Described by friends as relieved and recharged after getting the news this week that he will not be indicted in the leak probe, Rove now faces another verdict this fall over his abilities as a political strategist and his ambition to build an enduring GOP majority.

Rove's reputation as a campaign operative is unparalleled -- he is hailed by President Bush as the architect of his 2004 reelection -- but his judgment in melding politics and policy into an effective governing strategy has been called into question in the president's second term. Bush endured the worst stretch of his presidency when Rove's powers inside the White House were at their peak.

Not all of the problems can be laid at Rove's feet, given how much the Iraq war has damaged the president's standing. But Rove was the conceptual brains and chief cheerleader behind what turned into the biggest domestic policy failure of Bush's presidency -- the effort to introduce personal savings accounts into the Social Security program.

Republicans interviewed for this article also said they believed that the failure of others in the White House to check Rove's expanded powers contributed to missteps that they say were far less common during Bush's first term....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061602015.html

Like being paid to play Stratego.

he won't be there to take that test.
If you are looking for historical precedence,
Karl Rove = Ernst Rohm.

Turd Blossom seriously needs to lay off the "eggies"



(Eggies: Karl Rove's signature dish according to a USA Today article)



..."His signature dish is called "eggies," a heart-stopping mix of eggs, melted butter, cheese, and bacon grease, all served with bacon and maybe Danish. The secret: whisking. "He's always there just whisking and whisking," we're told.
USA Today