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'Bush's Brain' quits

In the fall of 1970, 19-yearold Karl Rove used a fake identity to break into the campaign office of Alan Dixon, who was running for state treasurer in Illinois. Mr. Rove stole Dixon's campaign letterhead, printed fake campaign flyers offering free beer, free food and girls, and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters.

The plot failed to defeat Mr. Dixon. But it was the beginning of an era of "dirty tricks" politics Mr. Rove controlled - mostly from the shadows and back rooms - for more than 30 years.

Mr. Rove never let ethics get in the way. But he has been incredibly successful.

During the 2000 Republican presidential primary, Mr. Rove worked for George W. Bush. A poll asked South Carolina voters: "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?" Sen. McCain's campaign never recovered from the damage and Mr. Bush went on to win the primary and the presidency.

Now Mr. Rove, who has served has Mr. Bush's deputy chief of staff, says he will retire at the end of the month. In the meantime, he survived a criminal investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to newspaper columnist Robert Novak. That was in retaliation for Ms. Plame's husband's opposition to the administration's rationale for the war in Iraq. Mr. Rove also refuses to testify before Congress about the White House's role in the firing of U.S. attorneys.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said Mr. Rove does not intend to work for any candidate during the 2008 presidential election cycle. Mr. Rove told the Wall Street Journal he plans to spend time with his wife and college-age son.

But if the push polling begins again this election cycle, we wouldn't be surprised to find Mr. Rove again lurking in the shadows of a dirty-tricks campaign.

The Decatur Daily

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