Damn. Now that deserves a big headline; it's some news. Karl Rove resigns as Bush’s consigliere.
Equally amazing, he gives two weeks notice and goes on vacation. Must be that working class background of his. Two weeks notice is all you get, according to the union, and I’m entitled to use up my leave time.
What on earth prompted this? More below.
If ever anyone was a bitter-ender it was Karl Rove. I assumed that everyone else would leave the White House staff before Bush's time ran out, but Rove would be there to carry Dubya's bag out, as he was there to carry it in, 14 years ago in Texas. Today’s Washington Post account by Peter Baker and Debbi Wilgoren is a shocker.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
According to Baker and Wilgorn,
Karl Rove, the architect of President Bush's two national campaigns and his most prominent adviser through 6-1/2 tumultuous years in the White House, announced today that he will resign at the end of the month, and associates said he plans to leave politics behind, for now at least.
Tears flowed liberally at the final scene. It was apparently deeply touching:
Bush and Rove appeared together on the South Lawn for an emotional coda to a political partnership that began 14 years ago and vaulted the two men to the Texas governor's mansion and eventually to the White House. They heaped praise on one another and attributed the departure to a desire to spend time with family, ignoring the many controversies that have followed Rove through his career.
"We've been friends for a long time, and we're still going to be friends," Bush said with Rove at his side. "I would call Karl Rove a dear friend. We've known each other as youngsters interested in serving our state. We worked together so we could be in a position to serve this country. And so I thank my friend. I'll be on the road behind you here in a little bit."
Rove's voice and face betrayed emotion as he then offered his farewell. "I'm grateful to have been a witness to history," he said. "It has been the joy and the honor of a lifetime." Rove added that when he leaves, he will become one of those "ordinary Americans who tell you they are praying for you."
Then, I'll be damned, he heads off on vacation with Dubya, according to the Post :
He and Bush then hugged before boarding Marine One and flying to Andrews Air Force Base, where they and their families got on Air Force One to head together to Texas for a summer break.
It’s a surprise to learn that someone who’s going to leave behind his job as counselor to the president on August 31 shoots off on vacation with the president. I’m self-employed and I don’t think I could get my office straightened out by the end of the month if I devoted full attention to it. And just think. Karl has two or three offices to clean out. There's the White House office. The RNC office. The home office. And of course the Crawford doublewide where he apparently hangs out with Dubya while on vacation. Maybe that's where he keeps most of the good pictures.
What’s it all about? Rove apparently wants to spend more time with his family. Honest, that’s what the Post is reporting with a straight face:
"There's always something that can keep you here," Rove said, "and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family."
Rove said he was finished with political consulting and plans to spend much of his time at his house in Ingram, Tex., with his wife, Darby, and near their son, who attends college in San Antonio. He said he plans to write a book about Bush's years in office, a project encouraged by the president, and would like to teach at some point, but has no job lined up for now.
Who knew the guy had a family? Honest. I’ve followed Rove reasonably closely, and I assumed he was single. I’ve never before heard any reference to a wife or child. There's a picture of Rove in today's Post at a recent Washington baseball game with an unnamed woman beside him. I wondered who she was; maybe she's the invisible wife.
This is an amazing political development. I mean Rove is a political junkie’s political junkie. The idea that he would voluntarily retire from the field is hard to take seriously. In your view, what accounts for Mr. Rove’s sudden announcement that he’ll retire from public life to spend more time with his family?