Karl Rove Resigns

By Jeralyn, Section Other Politics
Posted on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 08:38:53 AM EST
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Karl Rove is leaving the Bush Administration at the end of the month. He needs some more family time.

He disclosed his plans to the Wall St. Journal's Paul Gigot. Gigot's commentary is here.

Update: Christy live blogs the Bush-Rove Press Conference.

Reaction from Joseph Wilson (received by e-mail):

“Karl Rove’s resignation signals the final chapter in the Bush administration's betrayal of the identity of a covert CIA officer. When this breach of national security occurred, the President promised the American people that anybody in his administration responsible for the leak would be removed. Rove, identified by the prosecutors as one of the leakers, not only was not summarily dismissed, but has been allowed to leave on his own terms, to praise from the President. This sordid tale of compromising national security to cover-up and distract from the false rationale for the invasion of Iraq will forever remain in history a black mark on the Bush presidency”

Update: Arianna weighs in.

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Karl Rove Resigns | 38 comments (38 topical)

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He would be (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by Repack Rider on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 08:52:38 AM EST

planning to "spend more time with his family," except as far as I know, George and Condi and Laura and Alberto ARE his family.

Probably wants to spend more time with his lawyer.

I wish I knew what was up (none / 0) (#2)
by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 09:15:39 AM EST

Bill Bennett said this morning on cable news that it's probably more accurate that he wants to spend time with his banker and make some private sector money before the Bush administration gets the boot. My husband told me that that made sense but he isn't a political junkie. When I told him he was listening to the dude who said more abortions preformed on Black women would lower the crime rate he realized that Bill Bennett is pretty clueless about the facts of life.


You don't believe Rove wants to (none / 0) (#4)
by oculus on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 09:23:35 AM EST

hover over his college age son?


I try hard (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 02:18:16 PM EST

I close my eyes and clear my mind. I breathe deeply and exhale three times and then I try to conjure up an image of Karl Rove hovering protectively over his college age son and all I get is static. I just saw on MSNBC his rather emotional joint press conference with the Decider and what in the world was all that religious stuff? I thought Karl wasn't that much of a believer. Where in the world did all that Almighty come from?


You may recall earlier discuss that (5.00 / 1) (#25)
by oculus on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 02:22:17 PM EST

he wants to believe. Maybe he succeeded.


: Oh No, they didn't did they? (none / 0) (#27)
by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 02:26:22 PM EST

Did they lay hands on him, pray in tongues and have the holy spirit touch his heart? The scarecrow gets a brain, the tinman gets a heart, the cowardly lion gets courage, and Karl gets to believe and now he's saved. Who's gonna run things from behind the curtain now?

Yeah. You know "his family". (none / 0) (#11)
by locomule on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 10:49:25 AM EST

Romney, Giuliani, McCain, et al. They're in trouble in '08 and everyone knows it, so "Rove to the rescue".

He'll work out of his home office coordinating all the dirty tricks squads - much safer that way now that those pesky Democrats are sniffing all around D.C.

And working for the highest bidder? Just makes it that much sweeter.


Resign my ass. (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by Edger on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 09:23:21 AM EST

Ever heard of working under the table? He's not vanishing from the face of the earth.

He's been Bush's brain for years. I doubt much will change w/respect to that.

I was looking forward to Bush opening his (5.00 / 3) (#5)
by oculus on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 09:24:29 AM EST

mouth but nothing coming out. Now you've gone and spoiled it.


: Hahahaha (none / 0) (#7)
by Edger on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 09:34:11 AM EST

But... Doesn't he do that every day?

Cokie Roberts: Democrats 'demonized' Rove (5.00 / 2) (#10)
by Ellie on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 10:22:46 AM EST

That's like saying they vilified crime, politicized elections or made evil seem, you know, BAD or something.

(Presscon on shortly, ~11:30 I think; C-Span should have it.)

THEY WERE CRYING ON AIR FORCE ONE! :-( (5.00 / 2) (#12)
by Aaron on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 10:57:19 AM EST

After all America has been through, hurricane Katrina, the Iraq nightmare, the desecration of the Constitution, and this is what they cry over!

Typical!.

Now we can run him out of town on a rail!

UP THE REPUBLIC!!!

DOWN THE EMPIRE!!!

Hmmmmm.... (none / 0) (#13)
by Edger on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 11:09:59 AM EST

Private citizens get no secret service detail to protect them from the public, as far as I know...

You just never know (none / 0) (#16)
by Edger on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 11:11:54 AM EST

what lurks out there in the dead of night on DC streets....


You aren't all that woried about privacy, et al., (5.00 / 1) (#19)
by oculus on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 01:17:19 PM EST

are you?


I don't understand your question... (none / 0) (#22)
by Edger on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 02:10:21 PM EST

Bet NSA does. (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by oculus on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 02:23:05 PM EST

Shhhhh (1.00 / 1) (#29)
by jimakaPPJ on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 03:06:21 PM EST

Don't spook him.


no pun (none / 0) (#35)
by Jen M on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 07:09:22 PM EST

intended? >:)


: Jen M (none / 0) (#37)
by jimakaPPJ on Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 03:18:51 PM EST

as in... frighten..

The Bush's are a deeply caring emotional bunch (none / 0) (#24)
by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 02:21:25 PM EST

Aaron. It only makes sense they attract other deeply caring people to share their lives with them. You are being harsh. Babs cried like a child when Nixon left office ;)


Rove Arrested, breaking news (5.00 / 1) (#15)
by Aaron on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 11:11:31 AM EST

Karl Rove taken into custody as he steps off White House property.

:-)

Karl Rove = (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by desertswine on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 03:12:35 PM EST

damn onion-headed freak.

maybe (5.00 / 0) (#36)
by Sumner on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 10:00:48 PM EST

If Karl Rove failed to comply with the Judiciary Committee's subpoena (because the president invoked specious executive privledge), then the matter was headed to a judicial showdown. This maneuver buys several weeks breathing room and avoids that (losing) showdown as parties can claim the resignation was tendered so that Rove could honor the Senate supoena (and maybe contempt charges through this tactic).

Joe Wilson (1.00 / 1) (#18)
by Slado on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 01:10:35 PM EST

has a lot of gaul to make such a ridiculous comment.

Doesn't he realise that his 4 years of fame are over and the country has moved on?

Rove wasn't the leaker. Armitage was and whatever small amount of credibility Wilson has left is taken away from such ridiculous statements.

Karl Rove's credibility... (5.00 / 4) (#21)
by Dadler on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 01:22:37 PM EST

...makes Joe Wilson's look pretty damn good. A coward afraid to testify before congress, afraid to talk to the American people, afraid to send him own family to die in a war he shills for, and on and on.

Talk about gaul, Slado. The obssession with Wilson is right up there with Clinton's d*ck. Irrational and indicative of something much deeper in the psyche. Sure, Wilson was out to destroy the entire adminstration. His devious "plan" was to go to Africa, make up stuff, and embarrass Bushco. Unfortunately, Wilson has a long track record of serving various administration's of differing political stripes. Nothing of a similarly non-partisan or service related sort could marginally be claimed about Rove. He's a big ego, a bigger wallet, and a tiny little c*ck. Like all these guys. Hate to be crude, but when people are this easy to read and figure out, well, the truth is like that.


Dadler - (1.00 / 1) (#31)
by jimakaPPJ on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 03:15:29 PM EST

If Wilson had been worried about this wife he would have given his debrief and then faded back into retirement. Instead he was making anti-war speeches, calling on old friends at the DoS, giving interviews to national newspapers and writing editorials.

Any reasonable person would know that any person/organiztopm wanting to know more about this guy would want to understand the whole picture and would immediately find out that his wife went to work at CIA headquarters everyday..

BTW - His debrief to the CIA confirmed what Bush said. You have to know that since I have linked to it enough.

As for Rove not testifying, why would he?? No sane person walks into a perjury trap. And that is exactly what the Demo conrolled Judiciary Committee is.


In case any newbies are out there reading this (5.00 / 2) (#33)
by Molly Bloom on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 06:21:13 PM EST

Jim's debunking has been debunked every time he has posted it. Jim just refuses to believe anything that doesn't conform to his polticial ideology.

Wilson's mistake, of course, was assuming that people with security clearances would honor those clearances and that Bush would actually implement that Presidential Order on security clearances. Faulty assumption.

Not true (1.00 / 1) (#38)
by jimakaPPJ on Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 03:24:20 PM EST

In case you want to read the Senate Intelligence report:

The CIA's DO gave the former ambassador's information a grade of "good," which means that it added to the IC's body of understanding on the issue.... The reports officer said that a "good" grade was merited because the information responded to at least some of the outstanding questions in the Intelligence Community, but did not provide substantial new information. He said he judged that the most important fact in the report was that the Nigerien officials admitted that the Iraqi delegation had traveled there in 1999, and that the Nigerien Prime Minister believed the Iraqis were interested in purchasing uranium, because this provided some confirmation of foreign government service reporting.

: it's like tourettes for wrongwingers (5.00 / 1) (#39)
by Sailor on Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 04:59:55 PM EST

p.s. the adults were talking about karl rove resigning, change your depends and try to catch up.

"No comment," would have (none / 0) (#20)
by oculus on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 01:18:19 PM EST

been better from Wilson at this point.


Karl Rove? (1.00 / 1) (#34)
by bluesingincat on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 06:23:39 PM EST

I would really like to know where the verifiable sources are for the above "commentary". Geez, I feel like I've just walked into a room full of paranoid schizophrenics. How about some logical, inductive reasoning, using cold, hard facts? Karl Rove stepped down. Karl Rove was never found guilty of "leaking' anything. Why do you think he resigned, using the best factual evidence, and abandoning the conspiracy fantasies liberal minded people used to disdain? I am appalled at the way this email reprint has beguiled a supposedly educated and LIBERAL minded people. Are we? Are we really?

I hate to say it but (none / 0) (#6)
by aj12754 on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 09:33:12 AM EST

I really hope this is not an indication that Rove lost an internal political battle with Cheney.

Because if it is ... Good morning Iran.

Hallelujah!!! Rejoice Therefore! Up the Republic! (none / 0) (#9)
by Aaron on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 10:19:38 AM EST

What a great day for America, the Republic has finally thrown off a giant lodestone weighing around our necks which has been dragging us down for far too long.

And there was great rejoicing throughout the land. Yay! :-)

What shall George W. Bush do without his brain? Undoubtedly he will have a great deal of difficulty tying his shoes in the morning, and will require a team of nurses to help him eat his soup.

I imagine George will be transferred to the nearest DC assisted-living facility, where they will keep him alive Terri Schiavo-like, connected to feeding tubes and a dribble cup.

Dick Cheney will take over as president, and we can get on with impeachment proceedings, and look forward to his subsequent trial for treason and crimes against humanity.

: I'm lovin all this stuff on cable news about (none / 0) (#28)
by Militarytracy on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 02:31:56 PM EST

how Rove can speak publicly now so he can shore up Bush's "legacy". A giant hush has fallen over liberal bloggers across the net waiting for the first publicly spoken words that Rove will obviously own and be accountable for to fall from turd blossoms lips. Cable news is hilarious today!

Some Rove predictions to Parseltongue (none / 0) (#14)
by Ellie on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 11:11:30 AM EST

Via an Atrios link:

Mr. Rove also said he expects the president's approval rating to rise again, and that conditions in Iraq will improve as the U.S. military surge continues. He said he expects Democrats to be divided this fall in the battle over warrantless wiretapping, while the budget battle -- and a series of presidential vetoes -- should help Republicans gain an edge on spending restraint and taxes.

Bye Rovie (none / 0) (#17)
by TomStewart on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 12:56:47 PM EST

Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out!

Hoe many think that he resigned so the Dems couldn't hang him around Bush's neck during the coming election?

Rove comment roundup (none / 0) (#32)
by sonderling on Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 06:16:46 PM EST

TalkLeft gets a shout out in this blog post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-shrake/a-farewell-card-for-karl-_b_60290.html

I think the Web commenters of the world have the best ideas, esp. when they're brief and pithy!