Karl Rove

Karl Christian Rove ( born December 25, 1950 in Denver, Colorado) was, until August 31, 2007 Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House, party strategist and political advisor to the Republican Party in the United States and one of the most important advisor to George W. Bush.

Life

Rove taught at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas journalism and was chairman of the company Karl Rove & Company ( Austin, Texas), which deals with public relations. Rove is friends with the family of George W. Bush for 30 years, has passed all the election campaigns of Bush and those already advised, as he intended to be governor of Texas.

Rove is notorious for his political sense (or his ruthlessness as he accused opponents: " An ideological strategist who has often distorts the truth ," said the leader of the Democrats, Terry McAuliffe ) and its strategic feints: for example, diving information the enemy, which are anonymous or purporting launched by third parties, like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, who attacked fiercely Bush's opponent John Kerry in the 2004 election campaign.

Supposedly it goes back to the values ​​campaign in the 2004 election campaign, the millions indecisive Christians (the " religious right " ) brought America to the polls and the bus many observers to victory helped. Bush referred to him in a speech on 3 November 2004 as the " architect " of his election victory.

In February 2005, he was after he already has long been considered the most influential people by President Bush was (the " most powerful White House aides in modern U.S. history ," judged Bush's former adviser John Dilulio ), appointed vice chief of staff of the White House, so deputy to Andrew Card. Rove was now also responsible for the coordination of various departments of the economy to internal security.

Rove was accused in July 2005 as a source of identity betrayal of CIA agent Valerie Plame. The real identity of the agent has been forwarded to a conservative columnist and published by this, probably to take revenge on her husband, Joseph Wilson. Former U.S. Ambassador Wilson had been critical towards the Republican U.S. government and stands with Vice President Cheney at odds about the background of a journey of the ambassador to Niger in 2002, at the Wilson reports on uranium transactions examined. The one with the investigation of the CIA leak appointed Patrick Fitzgerald informed Rove in June 2006 that it would not come to the indictment against him. Instead, they concentrated on Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a confidant and employees Rove, who resigned a few months ago in connection with the affair from his post in the White House.

The policies of the White House remained his main domain until he announced his resignation as specifically for this range of competent adviser to the U.S. President George W. Bush on April 19, 2006. However, he remained first vice chief of staff of the White House and official advisor to the president. He also organized the campaign of the Republican Party for the midterm elections on November 7, 2006.

The departure from the White House

On 13 August 2007, he announced in an interview with the Wall Street Journal for the end of August 2007 and his resignation from the office of the Vice Chief of Staff. Rove called predominantly family reasons for his departure. The deciding to resign have given a statement of Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, according to which all senior Bush employee up to the end of the reign of Bush in January 2009, would remain in office if they do not zurückträten to late August. Previously, Rove was massive come under criticism because of the scandal surrounding the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. The eight lawyers accuse the White House to have been removed from their positions because they were not "Bush - friendly enough." After his departure Rove wanted to teach and write a book about his association with Bush.

In connection with the investigations of e -mail traffic of staff of the White House regarding the dismissals of United States Attorneys was revealed that many of them, including Rove, exchanged documents online via server of the Republican National Committee and also on third Provider had what a violation of the Presidential Records Act is - among other reasons, because thereby the prescribed automatic archiving of official communication of the White House is inhibited, which is to keep these identifiable and verifiable. About 500 of Rove's e- mails were also sent it to a parody site accidentally, which it forwarded to an investigative journalist. On 24 April 2007, announced that running against Rove under investigation for his involvement in the email scandal, in the questionable dismissals of federal prosecutors and because of " undue political influence on government decisions."

Because of these and other unresolved allegations against Rove initiated John Edwards, who ran as vice presidential candidate of the Democrats in 2004 and competed in 2008 as a presidential candidate of his party, an online petition to the U.S. president to fire Rove. Edwards commented on his website the departure of Rove with a single sentence: " Good riddance. " (Originally: "Goodbye, good riddance. ").

During the year 2007, several other high-ranking members of the Bush administration declared their resignation, including ( also as Rove in August ) Presidential spokesman Tony Snow and the controversial Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

Appreciation

Rove used his political activity during the image of a "gray eminence" and remained despite his extraordinary influence on George W. Bush outside - and often even within - the United States for a long time almost unknown. Long only insiders were aware of its outstanding importance for U.S. policy.

Shield his main adviser to the public as far as possible, also a central concern of the 43rd U.S. president always seemed to have been: " Most politicians find the cult of political consultants morose, but George W. Bush seemed to find it particularly irksome always ".

Rove is in the TV sitcom " That's My Bush! " Presented by actor Kurt Fuller and satirizes from satire frequently.

Likewise, Rove is parodied in the 7th episode of the first season of the animated series American Dad and presented as the personification of evil. He constantly wears a cassock, his body catches fire when he tried to enter a church and in the pronunciation of his name howls a wolf.

Quotes

" Rove is difficult. Its common type is an ironic - sometimes he seems to wink with the eye when he expressed indignation at the unjust attribution enormous influence of his person. "

" During his career, Rove was the most prominent political strategists of his generation, anathema to liberals and even for a number of conservative critics. "

"His opponent is not only feared the top consultants with the image of the personified ruthlessness, they admired him. "

" Rove's role behind the scenes in selling and induction speeches of the Iraq war was far more significant than is generally known. "

" The President himself called him sometimes " Turd Blossom " (about: Mist flower) because Rove, the luminary of all spin doctors, knew, as no other how to drive them out to even the ordinary dirt most beautiful flowers. "

" ... If Rove had left the White House in 2004 after the re- election of George W. Bush, he would have been a hero, a man to whom you would be remembered as one of the great political master tactician of the last half century. [ ... ] Rove's strategic vision included securing a Republican victory at the expense of conservative principles with one. "

" Rove has always been more than a campaign manager - he was and is a staunch conservative ideologue. "

"I 'm a myth. "