Karl Rove has been promoted and there is sure to be a firestorm among Democrats before they get their talking points coordinated. Terry McAwful takes the first shot:
Karl Rove, the senior political strategist who orchestrated President Bush’s re-election campaign, has been promoted to deputy chief of staff, a job that will involve him in most White House policy and not just politics.
Rove will retain his title as senior adviser and will continue to oversee strategy to advance the president’s agenda. In addition, he will continue to oversee the offices of intergovernmental affairs, political affairs and strategic initiatives.
But he will add to his portfolio the oversight of all White House policy development and coordination of the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
The promotion has rankled a few Democrats.
“Empowering Rove in this way shows that Bush cares more about political positioning than honest policy discussions,” said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. “ush knows that Rove is neither an economic nor a national security expert. He is simply an ideological strategist. … Clearly, Bush thinks political manipulation matters more than keeping the president honestly informed about the state of the country.”
But I thought Rove already ran everything? He is, after all, Bush’s Brain. Honesty and message consistency are not the DNC’s nor the Chairman’s strong suit.
I suspect by tomorrow cooler heads will prevail, and the mainstream media will start advancing the notion that this promotion means that Bush feels his domestic agenda is in trouble.
Bob
I agree. It doesn’t matter much what title Rove wears, he works for the Prez and since there’s no constitutional construction into which he’s got to fit, the Demos have no say in the matter.
And I think the second point is also true. It’s one thing to cut taxes for friends, it’s another to cut programs for constituents. The domestic program is in trouble with a lot of Republicans, especially those who have to get reelected every two years.
The Lonewacko Blog
I see no problem.
Rove has clearly demonstrated that he’s qualified to coordinate economic, domestic, national security, and homeland security policy for this administration.
Terry
Much of the report excerpted is in error. Late in the day, the NYT reporter who initiated the report, Elizabeth Bumiller, issued a somewhat lame correction.
Al Maviva
Q: Dr. Dean, what is the DNC’s position on the promotion of Karl Rove?
A: Aaaaaarrrrrriiiiiiieeeeeeegggghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Q: Thank you, Dr. Dean, for that amazingly insightful commentary. Back to you, Jordan.
Kimmitt
Hey, Al, saved any kids’ lives recently?
Mikey
Kimmitt:
What does that question to Al have to do with politics? So Gov. Dean was a doctor? So what? He’s now a political actor. He’s fair game.
M. Scott Eiland
Terry McDumbass is doing a great job. . .of making whatever level of ineptitude that Howie Dean brings to the job of DNC Chair look positively Machiavellian by comparison.
CadillaqJaq
I thought the AP article read pretty much like the Reuters article from yesterday… straight forward reporting with the exception of McAuliffe’s remarks that allowed AP to get in their licks ‘subliminally.’
Oddly, neither Reuters nor AP used that old worn out word ‘architect’ to describe Rove.
Kimmitt
He’s fair game.
Sure, but the attack was unfair, even in that context.
Angus Jung
Unfair! Unfair!