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August 13, 2007, 8:08 am
Rove’s August Surprise

By Mike Nizza

Tags: washington
Rove's August Surprise

It’s 7:58 a.m. Eastern time, and Karl Rove’s exit from the White House emerged several hours ago in a Wall Street Journal column titled “‘The Mark of Rove.’”

At first it would seem an odd choice, especially since the headline fails to divulge the huge, unexpected news. But also because identifying his mark on any given news story or policy is never this easy for those dedicated to Rove speculation.

The headline was taken from Mr. Gigot’s interview with Mr. Rove, who mentions the label in a “bemused” way. A 2003 New Yorker profile of President Bush’s chief political adviser tried to capture Mr. Rove’s “complicated” relationship with his reputation, and in the process provided an excellent companion to his comments today:

Rove has many times looked people in the eye and stoutly denied the Mark of Rove stories. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem to torment him that he’s the center of attention and speculation, or that he’s thought of as all-powerful. Rove is complicated. His usual mode is one of irony-sometimes there seems to be a twinkle in his eye as he professes outrage over the unfair attribution of enormous influence to him.

In confirming the exit, Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said it was not clear how he would be replaced. “It’s a big loss to us,” she said. If anyone on the White House staff is irreplaceable, it would be the man described in The New York Times this morning as “the midwife of Mr. Bush’s political persona itself.”

erg.. I'm confused. Is Rove the brain of the leader of the free world or the midwife to rosemary's baby? Is there a difference?