I, like everyone else here, wished & still hope that Karl Rove "reaps what he's sown" and gets indicted. This morning, MSNBC is reporting that Rove is still in serious legal jeopardy according to sources talking to the Washington Post, and that Fitzgerald hasn't signaled intentions in one direction or another. According to people in Rove's camp, he won't know for another couple of weeks if indictments are coming or not.
However, let me lay out a case of why a tainted Karl Rove might be better tactically for Democrats to fight the White House...
Tactics & Taint
In
Guerilla Warfare, there is a tactic where an insurgent force will wound members of a squad, but
NOT kill them. The logic being that the rest of the group will have to slow down to care for & carry the wounded members, and make the entire group more vulnerable. Even if Karl Rove is not indicted, every day that he goes into the Oval Office,
"Official A" will be going in there. When the trial is going on, Official A will be sitting somewhere in the White House. When Official A presents some policy proposal, it will have the stigma he carries. As long as the investigation is open or people are being tried, this issue with Rove will be alive. The moral high ground that the Republicans occupied after impeachment with talk of
"rule of law", "dignity of the office", and "character & conviction" is gone.
Architect, Evil Genius, Or Lucky In Opponents?
The media seems to believe that Karl Rove is essential to Bush's political position. Well, he "ain't" doing so good this year. Rove has led his boss to a 40% approval rating. This is the guy that thought Social Security was a great issue for his boss. Is Rove good, or are Democratic strategists just shittier than him? The Chicago Bears look like a Super-Bowl caliber team when they're playing the Arizona Cardinals. Put them in against the Colts, and they don't. With Rove staying, it may keep someone like Ed Gillespie from coming in & bringing new ideas that Bush might need to restart his White House.
Libby's Indictment
Yesterday, we had a U.S. Attorney give a press conference at the Department of Justice, where he said a member of the White House leaked information that damaged national security & harmed CIA agents, and lied to & obstructed a Federal Grand Jury investigation.
If the Democratic Party can't use that to construct a winning message of why they should be in power over the Republicans, they don't deserve to be in power...