Barone on Rove

After the Washington Post hit piece over the weekend, it was nice to see a real political journalist look at Karl Rove's legacy and impact as Michael Barone does.

Rove brought to his work a wide and deep knowledge of U.S. history, political statistics, demography, and public policy. He worked hard and, for most of three years, under an unjustified threat of indictment. He does not seem to have weighed in much on foreign or military policy, and there is no reason to believe that George W. Bush sought his advice on whether to take military action in Iraq. But otherwise, he seems to have had his hand in everything from the details of the Medicare prescription drug bill to who should be the Republican nominee for the Senate in Minnesota. His effectiveness was grounded in the belief—accurate, it seems, to the end—that he had the full confidence of the president.

What is the verdict on his legacy? Rove is, as Bush put it, the "architect" of his political and policy strategy, and to many, that intertwined strategy seems to be in ruins. I take a longer view. For most of his career, Rove was a political consultant. In my own briefer career as a political consultant, I advised candidates running for executive office that they needed to come up with a small number of issue positions that would enable them to (a) get their party's nomination, (b) win the general election, and (c) govern effectively. I was surprised how few managed to carry this out. Bill Clinton, who drew on many consultants, did this quite well in 1992. Bush, with Rove at his side, did a pretty good job in 2000.

Rove is, and will remain, the Democratic boogeyman from 2000 until probably 2012 or even beyond. Everytime the Democrats looked prepared for a victory, something happened that led to a political defeat and each time the Democrats saw Karl Rove. I am not sure what the Demorats will do when the next political defeat comes--other than to blame Karl Rove.