In light of the Scooter Libby indictment, and its description of Karl Rove’s involvement in the Plame leak, Senate Dems called (again) for Rove’s ouster and reminded everyone of Bush’s stated commitment to fire anyone involved with the leak. Yesterday, however, a Senate Republican joined the fun. You might be surprised which one.
On MSNBC’s Hardball, Trent Lott (R-Miss.) didn’t exactly take the Dems’ line — Rove has to go because of his role in the Plame Game — but Lott did say that it’s time for Rove to pursue other endeavors. What’s more, Lott suggested Rove never should have gotten his job in the first place.
“Well, the question is, that you asked, is [Rove] good for American politics? Look, he has been very successful, very effective in the political arena. The question is should he be the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy under the current circumstances? I don’t know all that’s going on, so I can’t make that final conclusion. But, you know, how many times has the top political person become also the top policy advisor? Maybe you can make that transition, but it’s a real challenge. […]
[I]s he in the right position? I mean, a lot of political advisors, in fact, most presidents in recent years have a political adviser in the White House. The question is, should they be making, you know, policy decisions. That’s the question you’ve got to evaluate.”
And it’s a darn good question at that. As Kevin put it, “Presidents all have political gurus who know how to play rough and pander to their base when election season rolls around, but George Bush is the only president who’s put this same guy in his top policy role. That’s fundamentally turned policymaking into a mockery in the Bush White House, converting virtually every question about how to run the country into little more than a crass electoral calculation.”
I couldn’t agree more, but I’m wondering if Lott’s comments could be used for a fresh round of questioning about Rove’s future.
At this point, the calls for Rove’s ouster are, get this, bi-partisan, which for the media, makes the demands legitimate. Indeed, now that Lott has broached the subject, how about asking some GOP moderates who may want to exert some independence in advance of next year’s elections (Chafee, Snowe)? For that matter, maybe a reporter or two could call some vulnerable GOP incumbents (Santorum, DeWine, Talent, etc.) and ask them, “A growing number of senators from both parties believe it’s time for Karl Rove to go. Do you agree or are you backing the guy who’s the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation and who participated in the leak of classified information?”
Granted, a reporter probably wouldn’t word it that way, but it’d nevertheless be interesting a) to put some of these guys on the spot; and b) see if Lott’s comments could be the start of a broader call for Rove’s resignation.