alexander cockburn on the inflated reputation of Bush’s departing political advisor
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The uproar over Karl Rove's resignation as George Bush's political advisor is stupendous, but in truth he was no great shakes as a Svengali and his exit is of scant consequence.
Though they profess joy that the nation has been freed from his malign supervision, the Democrats have lost one of their most useful alibis. By inflating Rove (right) into a blend of Walsingham and Svengali, they sought to explain how they failed to stop a mediocre Texas governor and incoherent campaigner from capturing the White House in 2000 and holding on to it in 2004.
Al Gore fought a wretched campaign in 2000 and in the grand finale it was not Rove but five Republican justices on the US Supreme Court who gave Bush the White House. Four years later Bush should have acknowledged, not Rove, but bin Laden for reinventing him as the West's doughty champion. Then he
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| Conservatives detest Rove as they claim he pushed Bush towards socialism |
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should have saluted Mrs Teresa Heinz Kerry, for persuading Americans that, shaky as George might be, John Kerry would be worse - particularly since George had the pleasing Laura at his side and John an arrogant Portuguese billionairess.
The prime task of a political counsellor is to keep his patron's polling numbers high, thus enhancing his political clout. Rove leaves his employer with ratings in the low 30s and with almost zero political capital in the bank.
Rove's three aims for Bush's second term were to privatise social security - America's public pension system - push through an immigration act and firm up a permanent Republican majority.
In the event, social security 'reform' was the White House's prime domestic political disaster in 2005. Rove's handling of the recent immigration bill was so inept Republican leaders refused to talk to him and told Bush's chief of staff to send someone else. The 'permanent Republican majority' turned to ashes in the polling booths last November. Rove's last turn as arch demon 
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