Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (6954)	2/9/2005 12:23:09 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361441

The Karl Rove Ascension __________________________________ By Dan Froomkin Special to washingtonpost.com Wednesday, February 9, 2005; 11:41 AM Karl Rove is now, officially, in charge of pretty much everything at the White House. But it's mostly just a title change. President Bush's long-time chief political strategist is now assistant to the president, deputy chief of staff and senior adviser. That's a lot of titles. But of course Rove has even more nicknames. He's been called "Bush's guru," "Bush's brain," "the man behind the curtain" and "the wizard of the West Wing." Rove himself cracked that his reputation is "evil Rasputin." And Bush alternately calls Rove "the architect," "boy genius," or "turd blossom" -- the last a reference to a West Texas flower that grows in cow manure. The new titles come with no extra money --Rove was already maxed out on the White House pay scale. But he does move from his modest second-floor office (formerly occupied by Hillary Rodham Clinton) to one just a few steps away from the Oval Office. If we look at my soon-to-be-updated West Wing floor plan, I figure he'll be shifting his base of operations from No. 24 down to No. 11, now that Harriet Miers has taken over No. 26 as the new White House counsel. The news is being widely hailed as another indication that Rove has been authorized to use the power of the White House in this second Bush term to carve out a lasting Republican majority. Critics see Rove's promotion as further evidence that this White House makes little or no distinction between politics and policy. Rove was already officially in charge of strategic planning, political affairs, liaison to outside groups and intergovernmental affairs. Now he'll also be in charge of coordinating the policies of the National Security Council, the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council and the Homeland Security Council. But here's a thought: Is it possible that this change will actually encumber Rove more than empower him? He may have been more effective as a free-floating brain than he will be in his new role, which is likely to feature almost nonstop meetings, many of them very big. Ask anyone who's been there: Meetings can really hurt your productivity. And official titles aside, while Bush may achieve lame-duck status in a matter of months, Rove remains king-maker for life. As a result, Rove's influence over Republican elected officials may soon exceed that of his boss, if it doesn't already. How It Played Peter Baker writes in The Washington Post: "During President Bush's first term, outsiders often suspected that Karl Rove was really behind virtually everything. Now it's official. . . . "For a man who spent a lifetime in the business of polls and campaign strategy, it is an expansive portfolio cutting across virtually the entire policy spectrum. But many in the White House said the new position largely formalizes what was already true, noting that Rove has quietly played a vital role in shaping domestic policy from the inception of the Bush presidency. Now, for the first time, he will have a formal hand in foreign policy as well." Richard W. Stevenson writes in the New York Times, calling it "a move that formally gives him what he has had in practice all along, a substantial voice in nearly every issue before the administration. . . . "In bureaucratic terms, the move struck some analysts as curious. As senior adviser, Mr. Rove has always operated with a relatively free hand and open access to Mr. Bush. In assuming the deputy chief of staff's job as well, he will take on what some White House officials said were mainly administrative duties. Judy Keen writes in USA Today: "Karl Rove's promotion Tuesday elevated his image from the most powerful presidential adviser in modern times to, well, an even more powerful presidential adviser." And apparently Rove even has groupies. "Fans can search the Internet and buy a camisole ($17.99) or boxer shorts ($14.99) featuring his photo inside a pink heart." Peter Wallsten writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Rove becomes one of the most influential advisors to serve a president. Experts said it was unusual for any White House aide other than the chief of staff to straddle the worlds of politics and domestic and foreign policy. . . . "One former Republican White House staffer, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of discussing Rove, called Rove's new job 'the mother of all portfolios.' " 'I hope he likes going to meetings,' the former aide joked." G. Robert Hillman writes in the Dallas Morning News: "For Mr. Rove, the promotion from senior adviser to deputy chief of staff expands his already-far reach within the administration -- and gives him a new first-floor, West Wing office close to the president." Rupert Cornwell writes in the Independent: "George Bush yesterday made official what has been long been an acknowledged fact of Washington life -- the involvement of his top strategist Karl Rove not just in politics but in almost every aspect of administration strategy." Kenneth R. Bazinet writes in the New York Daily News: "President Bush's political mastermind, Karl Rove, is getting a chance to spread his tentacles into White House foreign and domestic policy." "PREZ GURU PROMOTED," says the headline in the New York Post. Hotline's "Last Call" asks: "Isn't 'Rove Gets Bigger Role at White House' kind of like saying 'Willy Wonka Takes On More At The Chocolate Factory'?" washingtonpost.com