"No help in the first, a liability in the second. Rove picked a good time to leave"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

http://www.kansascity.com/273/story/235254.html

Charlotte (N.C.) Observer editorial, Posted on Thu, Aug. 16, 2007 10:15 PM

PRO-CON: Did Karl Rove leave behind a positive legacy? NO

Some political advisers are good at winning elections, others at governing, but only a few at both. Karl Rove, a top aide to President Bush who announced his resignation Monday, was a wizard at election strategy, but in dealing with Congress he proved to be what Harry Potter fans would call a muggle. With no more elections ahead, Bush may do better without him.

The president’s first big legislative initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act, was a model for moving forward in concert with Congress. The bill was shaped in a bipartisan conference in Austin, Texas, before his inauguration. Congress swiftly approved it with ample Democratic support.

After that, the Bush administration switched tactics, using the Republican majority in Congress to ram through legislation with no regard for whether any Democrats supported it. That worked on popular proposals, such as tax cuts and the Medicaid prescription benefit, but it didn’t work on tough issues. Rove’s manner of dealing with congressional Republicans was part of the problem.

Bush now faces two major challenges — the war in Iraq and creating a legislative legacy. Rove would be no help in the first and a liability in the second. He picked a good time to leave.

[tularetom]

1. I'm not sure he was a "wizard at election strategy"

Remember how he "had THE math" before the 06 midterm elections. We all know how that turned out.

The only kind of "wizard" rove might be is the kind that prances around in a sheet and a pointy hood.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. Yes, "THE" math...one of Rove's Greatest Hits.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding...and Rove's primary objective ("a permanent Republican majority") joins Social Security reform and Immigration reform on the "things that never happened during the Bush presidency" list.

:-)