Karl Rove defends Junior's "intellect," says "I wasn’t George Bush’s brain"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Karl Rove: I wasn’t George Bush’s brain
GOP strategist defends ex-president’s intellect and his own political style

By Mike Celizic
TODAYshow.com contributor
updated 1 hour, 1 minute ago

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35723068/ns/today-today_people/

Most people would probably find it flattering to be called the brains behind the president of the United States. But not Karl Rove, the former senior adviser to President George W. Bush who has been called “Bush’s brain.”

The nickname, bestowed on Rove by Bush critics, isn’t a compliment to him but rather an insult to his former boss, Rove told TODAY’s Matt Lauer during an extensive interview he granted in conjunction with the publication of his book, “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight.”

“I’ve known him for almost four decades. He is a really smart person. To suggest that I was his brain is derogatory about him,” Rove said in a preview of the interview that ran Friday on TODAY. The full interview will air Monday and Tuesday, March 8 and 9, on TODAY. On Tuesday, Rove will join Lauer live in the show’s Studio 1A in New York City.

In a review of the book, The Associated Press writes: “The former White House political adviser blames himself for not pushing back against claims that President George W. Bush had taken the country to war under false pretenses, calling it one of the worst mistakes he made during the Bush presidency. The president, he adds, did not knowingly mislead the American public about the existence of such weapons.”

Bush’s critics portrayed him as an intellectual lightweight who relied on Rove’s brains. Rove told Lauer that it’s a common tactic in politics.

“If you really want to diminish a candidate, depict him as the foil of his handler. This is as old in American politics as politics itself,” Rove said. “It’s easy to point at me. I’m convenient.”

Rove fiercely defends his old boss in his book and predicts that history will ultimately approve of Bush’s presidency, including his 2003 invasion of Iraq.

[rfranklin]

1. Put his pudgy ass in jail...

This is like letting Hermann Goering roam free.

[yellerpup]

5. +1M

:kick:

[peekaloo]

2. I nominate "sphincter".

[old mark]

3. This means Bush had no brain at all!!!!!

[Beetwasher]

4. Karl Rove Is A Hamfisted Idiot

He never had any real talent or acumen. He has low cunning and got in with the right people who had enough money for him to use to clobber people with.

Remember, he didn't WIN the 2000 election, it was mob threats that won the day in the Fl. recount, and Bush's ability to bully came from fear after 9/11.

He's a low rent slob with good connections.

How's that permanent Republican majority working out for you, douche?

[Blue Owl]

6. Hey Karl, let's contrast this with what you said in 2004...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2004/11/25/clinton_library/index.html

Karl Rove is a lying sack of shit.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. OMG, then there wasn't any brain power at all for 8 years!!

[pipi_k]

8. Yeah, we can plainly see how intelligent he is...

[MidwestTransplant]

9. That's not defending Bush's intellect, that's defending his own!

[spanone]

10. karl, you were georgies asshole

[DefenseLawyer]

11. Who's going to defend your intellect, Karl?

Perhaps someone from one of the many colleges from which you dropped out.

[HopeHoops]

12. Of COURSE Rove wasn't Bush's brain. He was Bush's ASSHOLE!

Cheney was in charge. Bush was just plastered. I think your choice of pictures shows that pretty well. Isn't that the same event where he held the flag up backwards and his daughter gave him a "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" look?

[lutefisk]

13. "He is a really smart person."- LOL