Karl Rove as Fall Guy

Karl Rove is being demoted. That's the party line at the moment.

The AP reports that: "Rove gave up his responsibilities as chief policy coordinator, a position he assumed just over a year ago that strengthened his influence over matters ranging from homeland security and domestic policy to the economy and national security. The promotion had left him stretched too thin in the eyes of some officials, as the White House grappled with mounting problems."

That's not, by the way, the kind of mounting problems that Clinton had in his second term. Whole different kind of mounting.

But what I find interesting in the AP story (which I found in the Washington Post) is the next paragraph:

"With Wednesday's change, Rove will be able to focus more on politics, fundraising and big-picture thinking with the approach of the November congressional elections, officials said."

In other words, the Bush Administration is hoping that Karl Rove will be able to salvage the Republican majority and keep the Democratic wolf away from the door of the House and Senate. By using his patented dirty tricks, no doubt.

The funny thing about all this is that Bush really isn't bringing any new blood to the White House, the way Reagan did when the Iran-Contra scandal broke: he's just moving people around. You don't get close to Bush in this White House unless your nose has been nuzzling his sphincter for at least a decade or so -- therefore this little game of musical chairs in the West Wing is ultimately meaningless. It's not like he's going to be hearing any new ideas from these people.

Human Events magazine (the rag that's just a little to the right of Atilla the Hun) has a different take on the Rove matter:

"Somebody has to be the "fall-guy" for the November election debacle that is brewing for the Republican Party."

From your lips to the Almighty, babe...

Tom Moran