Is there a Rove/Mehlman power struggle for control of the GOP campaign operation?

Today's New York Times article about the GOP firewall set off a firestorm.

RNC Chair Ken Mehlman convened a "hastily arranged" conference call this morning to assert his authority over the campaign plan. And, Stuart Rothenberg reports via Political Wire that the RNC will be spending money on DeWine's race.

So, who said the GOP is pulling out of Ohio? It had to be someone very high ranking for Nagourney to write that article. This has Karl Rove's fingerprints all over it. Could there be a power struggle between Rove and his protege, Mehlman?

Here's what we heard from a very reliable source: Rove was on a plane from Cincinnati to DC last night. Interesting because we're told that Rove wasn't placed at any public events in Ohio that day. Was his purpose for being in Ohio to pull the plug on the DeWine campaign? Also, remember the Washington Post article from the weekend where top GOP operatives were saying that Bush and Rove were delusional about the elections. Is Rove trying to prove he's actually got his finger on the pulse.

If so, that puts Rove at odds with Kenny. And, it would explain why Mehlman felt the need to show his manhood today.

Let's not forget that Mehlman has his own bad press to deal with. Kenny got slammed hard yesterday in the LA Times for his very close (closer than previously admitted) relationship with Abramoff. That has got to have him distracted. He sure looked that way on CNN yesterday.

The GOP is clearly a mess. The Republican Senatorial campaign is a disaster. Bush is delusional. Now, it looks like they may be having their own civil war.

UPDATE: Political Wire reports Nagourney and VandeHei from the Washington Post were on the News Hour tonight and both stand by the story that the GOP is pulling out of Ohio. So the plot thickens.