...As the midterm campaign enters the homestretch, the GOP congressional juggernaut that has dominated national politics for more than a decade may be over. Polls show Democrats extending their leads in pivotal races across the country. But the man largely responsible for the Republicans' glory days - and arguably still the most powerful political operative in the United States - is far from discouraged.
Instead, Rove is giving a virtuoso performance designed to prevent the Democrats from taking control of the House and Senate or, if that is no longer possible, to hold down the size of the Democratic victory to make it easier for the GOP to come back in 2008. His plan is three-pronged: to reenergize any conservatives who may be flagging; to make sure the GOP's carefully constructed campaign apparatus is functioning at peak efficiency; and to put the resources of the federal government to use for political gain. Read the whole article here...
I have to say that I think a lot of the scrutiny of Karl Rove right before the election is just ridiculous. Can the media possibly make him any more of a mythological figure? The whole notion that someone as media-savvy as Karl Rove would ever allow any public displays of less than utter confidence in the direction that the Bush White House is taking this country is either completely naive or so wrapped up in the swirling mythos of conspiracy theories that they're not thinking straight.
It should be expected that Karl would be whistling past the graveyard as November 7th gets closer and poll after poll shows that the Democrats are poised to regain the majority.
That said, if the Dems to get the majority, I'd like to see some investigation of the legality of using "the resources of the federal government [...] for political gain." Somehow that doesn't seem on the up and up, and THAT I wouldn't put past Karl.