My progressive friends have been asking what I think of this whole "Karl Rove outing of Joe Wilson's CIA operative wife, Valerie Plame." They're truly excited to think that all of Rove's sleazeball tactics are catching up with him.
Let me list a few:
-In 1986, Rove, while working to get Bill Clements elected, manufactured a story that incumbant Texas Governor Mark White placed a bug in Rove's office just before a debate between the two candidates. The story, released one month before the election, was eventually proven false but it gave Clements the edge to win the Texas governorship.
-In 1994 while working for George W. Bush, Rove created a whisper campaign to smear Texas Governor Anne Richards by saying that she not only appointed activist gays to top positions but that she was also a lesbian herself.
-During the presidential primaries of 2000 Rove orchestrated a whisper campaign accusing John McCain's wife of drug addiction while impugning Vietnam P.O.W. McCain's mental health.
Yes, Rove is a scumbag who deserves to be literally tarred and feathered... but even as I see the Bush administration's wagons circling in defense, I, the eternal optimist, really don't expect Rove to ever be held accountable for his actions. It's the way of the Bush White House.... NO ONE is ever held accountable for their actions. (Unless they oppose the administration's view and are right, that is.) Who knows though? Maybe I'll be surprised.
Anyway, as The New York Times' Frank Rich so excellently explains in this MUST READ, it's not really about Rove.
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