EJ Dionne takes a look at Karl Rove today reminding us that all Rove ever does is politics -- all the time. Karl Rove got Bush re-elected and believed his own spin. He was going to re-define politics in America -- not anymore:
Rove never stopped being political, even when he had formal responsibility for policy. What's intriguing about the shift in the direction of Rove's energies is that it marks a turn from the high politics of a partisan realignment driven by ideas and policies to the more mundane politics of eking out votes, seat by seat and state by state. Most of Rove's grander dreams have died as the president's poll numbers have come crashing down.Karl Rove has now helped get his boss all the way down to a 33% approval rating. That's even in the poll done by their very good friends and allies at Fox News. This, as Dionne points out, means the elections are going to get ugly -- really ugly. Rove and Bush are like wounded animals....they'll do anything to survive. The Democrats know it's coming:
Thus Rove's new electoral focus is an urgent administration priority. And given the unfavorable political terrain for the president, Rove's recipe this year, as in 2004, is likely to include a heavy dollop of attacks on the Democrats. Hold on for the new Swift Boaters, coming soon to your swing state. It's not the politics dreams are made of, but it often works.The attacks can only work if the Democrats don't fight back. The only way to control Bush is with a Democratic Congress, Rove knows that and he'll throw everything he can at the Dems to prevent it. Maybe this time, instead of waiting for the Rove/Swift Boat attacks, the Dems. should go on the offensive and attack first. Just an idea.
