# Karl Rove Bails Out!!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 13, 2007, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411 "2007-08-13T09:04:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/81 "2007-08-14T06:40:04Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Well now I’m confused - I thought it was God who appointed George Bush as President. [/QUOTE] The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away… ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/82 "2007-08-14T09:51:39Z")
[QUOTE=choie] **John Mace** , **xtisme** , **CarnalK** and even **Martin** freakin’ **Hyde** are right. And I can’t believe anything would make me agree with the latter. **Tuckerfan** , I find the term offensive and I’m as far as you can get from a right winger. [/quote] Well doesn’t that mean you’re supposed to be offended by _everything?_😉 > [@](#): > > It really was a pointless addition to your OP, and the fact that you keep on defending its usage is distracting from the big picture of your thread’s topic – and makes you look as embarrassingly thickheaded as George Allen, who used it in the first place. So you think that if I _hadn’t_ put it in the OP we wouldn’t have **Martin** and the others checking in here and saying, “BFD, he’ll still be giving Bush advice.”? 'Cause I don’t see it. We’d get the same shit from them _without_ any other discussions going on. It’d just be a single topic tossed back and forth between folks. This way we’ve got more than one. As for my “defense” of it, well, I _could_ blame it on my not having slept for 24+ hours when I wrote the OP, that I’ve had to trim back on my meds due to not having insurance at the moment, so I’m certainly doing things that I wouldn’t normally do and that I’ve been spending way too much time on the boards, however, while all true, none of those things would magically make what I posted disappear. Nor would they erase the memory of what I posted. Nor am I, like Allen, attempting to claim that I had no idea of what the word meant. > [@](#): > > Don’t fall into the habit of defending a mistake past the point of all reason. That’s almost … well, Bushlike. C’mon, you’re better than this. In order to do that, I’d have to first deny that I posted it, then I’d have to claim I didn’t know what it meant, then that I was quoted out of context, and finally, that I had access to classified information which I couldn’t release to anyone. Frankly, however, I fail to see how anything a random asshole such as myself could say or do could possibly compare to the actions of people that have led directly to the deaths of 3K+ Americans, 600K+ Iraqis, and the flushing of close to half a trillion dollars down the largest toilet this world’s ever seen. _That_ is offensive and outrageous. The comments of some random asshole in a medium dedicated to slandering people anonomously and exchanging porn has _got_ to pale by comparison, don’t you think? **CarnalK** , I don’t expect, nor care, if anyone defends what I posted in this thread. Unlike you, I’m _not_ afraid to take the heat. And IMHO, the _best_ thing that we can do is to take offensive terms and make them so mundane and trivial that no one notices them any more. In fact, I think we should do it with _almost all_ evil, heinious things in the world. Why? Well, we’ve tried attaching a great deal of importance to making sure that everyone knows Hitler was one of the vilest humans to walk the Earth, hasn’t eliminated neo-Nazis, genocide, or any other thing which you’d think that we all have sworn off of. Now imagine if the common perception of Hitler was that of him a presented in the horrible film Little Nicky: A guy in a French maid outfit with a pineapple up his ass. Think that _anyone_ would have thought that Iraq was a serious threat to the US when Bush compared Saddam to Hitler if that was the case? How many people would want to emulate a guy with a pineapple up his ass? I doubt if very many people would. That’s one of the reasons why most of the Nazis on _Hogan’s Heroes_ were played by Jews who’d suffered persecution under the Nazis. They knew that by protraying the Nazis as a bunch of incompetant idiots, they’d be stripping them of some of their power to frighten people. But let’s not pretend that there’s a single thing I could post which would please you. Even my _not_ posting would piss you off, since you wouldn’t have me to bitch about. So go ahead, pat yourself on the back, and call yourself superior to me here, and anywhere else you want. I don’t care. **Cervaise** , do you _really_ think that **Martin** ’s capable of being honest enough with himself to even _think_ that Rove, et. al might not be the greatest thing to happen to this country? I’d be willing to bet that if incontrovertable evidence came out that Bush & Co. had gotten us into the war in Iraq simply to enrich themselves, at least one Doper here would be saying, “History will justify their actions! Just you wait and see!” Hell, they’d say the same thing if Bushco performed an abortion on national TV. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/83 "2007-08-14T10:02:16Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Well now I’m confused - I thought it was God who appointed George Bush as President. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah, but just like God\* told… Abraham?, Moses?.. er, one of those guys, to sacrifice his own son to prove his faith, God\* told George to sacrifice his country to prove his. \*God, or a psychotic inner voice – probably the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/84 "2007-08-14T11:49:07Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Funny, that’s _not_ how I’ve heard it described when it’s happened in the past with various administrations. I take it that this means if a Dem takes the White House in '08, you _won’t_ be crowing when one of the members of their staff steps down at some point. :dubious: [/quote] So it is your assertion that _anytime_ someone leaves the employ of the White House it is a sign that said person has: 1. Fallen out of favor 2. Decided to “bail out” of a sinking ship 3. Been forced out by negative public opinion You don’t believe people who work for the President can leave for simple reasons such as, “I signed on to work on specific policy, those policies have either been completed (successfully or unsuccessfully), and thus it is time to move on?” The people who end up working with the Executive Office of the President (or the Cabinet) are very motivated, career-oriented people who have held many important positions in their lives prior to working for the White House and usually these people go on to hold may important positions _after_ working for the White House. It’s not at all uncommon for senior policy types at all levels of government to have a job in which they plan to stay for a certain period of time and then move on, in the process picking up a very nice addition to their already impressive resumes. > [@](#): > > Then why the _hell_ hasn’t Bush kicked Alberto “I have no memory” Gonzales to the curb? Members of the GOP are saying that Gonzales is a drooling idiot, so by your logic he should be shot out of the White House via goat cannon, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. Who knows? Probably the biggest reason is, the Attorney General is a Senate confirmed, important public position within the Government. Getting ridd of AG Gonzales means another confirmation battle. Plus, it looks really, really bad when you have to get rid of someone who is in the cabinet because of their actions. With people who work for the Executive Office of the President, these are more like traditional “worker bees” in a corporate structure, who can and are removed on a whim (or who will themselves come and go on a whim.) Most of them are usually barely even known by the public at large. Rove is remarkable in how well known he has become, considering his actual posts within the government. Despite this, I’d bet most Americans, even the ones who would recognize Rove by name probably wouldn’t correctly identify him as _Deputy Chief of Staff_. Nor could they probably even explain the responsibilities of either the Deputy Chief of Staff or the Chief of Staff. Furthermore, it was just one possibility, that Rove was asked to resign because the President viewed him as being toxic. It’s also entirely plausible Rove just doesn’t want to stay on for the full term in a lame duck Presidency (which the Bush presidency has been argued to be and will _certainly be_ at some point in 2008.) This in and of itself isn’t entirely uncommon in Presidential administrations. As for the “playing poker” bit. Andrew Jackson employed an entirely non-official “kitchen cabinet” who wielded exceptional power. Called such because they met with Jackson in the kitchen (at least allegedly.) With modern technology and video conferencing a similar unofficial group of advisers could easily be used by a modern President. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/85 "2007-08-14T16:29:30Z")
Take this to the bank: no power junky gives up power without a compelling reason, and spending time with his family just ain’t it. If he were seriously ill and wanted to spend his time reading the Scriptures and looking for a loophole, they would have said so, they would have milked it for every drop of sympathy they could muster. There’s something coming down the road, and they know it. They want to get Rove out before it arrives so that they can say he didn’t quit because of it, he already quit. Its pre-emptive damage control. What is it? Don’t know, but we’ll know pretty soon. If it could have been covered up, they would have done so, it can’t, so Rove is toast. They know its coming, they know they can’t stop it, so Rove is outa there. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/86 "2007-08-14T16:38:15Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Oh yeah, but just like God\* told… Abraham?, Moses?.. er, one of those guys, to sacrifice his own son to prove his faith, God\* told George to sacrifice his country to prove his. \*God, or a psychotic inner voice – probably the latter. [/QUOTE] I’m thinking George didn’t read all the way to the end of the story, where the boy doesn’t actually get sacrificed. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/87 "2007-08-14T17:00:53Z")
> [@Tuickerfan](#): > > CarnalK, I don’t expect, nor care, if anyone defends what I posted in this thread. Unlike you, I’m not afraid to take the heat. And IMHO, the best thing that we can do is to take offensive terms and make them so mundane and trivial that no one notices them any more. I’m afraid to take the heat? You really should just drop the “cowardice” meme as it really highlights your “internet blowhard” streak. And again you are completely bullshitting. You weren’t trying some Lenny Bruce style anti-censorship crap. You admitted trying to smear Rove with the term and that only makes sense if you were implying that he was somehow connected to the “macaca incident”. Or maybe that ALL republicans must wear that shame. > [@](#): > > But let’s not pretend that there’s a single thing I could post which would please you. Even my not posting would piss you off, since you wouldn’t have me to bitch about. Seriously: get over yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/88 "2007-08-14T17:06:18Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I’m thinking George didn’t read all the way to the end of the story, where the boy doesn’t actually get sacrificed. [/QUOTE] He bought a used bible at the campus bookstore, and only read the highlighted parts. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/89 "2007-08-14T17:25:54Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Oh yeah, but just like God\* told… Abraham?, Moses?.. er, one of those guys, to sacrifice his own son to prove his faith, God\* told George to sacrifice his country to prove his. \*God, or a psychotic inner voice – probably the latter. [/QUOTE] God said “Abraham, kill me a son.” Abe said “God, you must be puttin’ me on” God said “No” and Abe said “What?” God said “You can do what you want to, son but…” “Next time you see me comin’, man, you better run!” All praise Johnny Winter 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/90 "2007-08-14T17:36:38Z")
St. Robert of Hibbing ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/91 "2007-08-14T19:29:03Z")
[QUOTE=CarnalK] I’m afraid to take the heat? You really should just drop the “cowardice” meme as it really highlights your “internet blowhard” streak. [/quote] That’s rich coming from a guy who has a homepage dedicated to snarking at people. > [@](#): > > And again you are completely bullshitting. You weren’t trying some Lenny Bruce style anti-censorship crap. You admitted trying to smear Rove with the term and that only makes sense if you were implying that he was somehow connected to the “macaca incident”. Or maybe that ALL republicans must wear that shame. Pttht. Why should I trot out something so totally unconnected to Rove if I was being serious? There’s ample accusations out there for me to draw on. You know, like one’s that he was the mastermind behind the firings of the various attorneys because they “wouldn’t play ball,” that he’s the guy who rigged elections to enable Bush and his cronies to come to power, that he’s the brains of the administration, and the list just goes on and on. > [@](#): > > Seriously: get over yourself. I was “over myself” a long time ago. I just find it hysterical that you seem to have nothing better to do with your life than make the ramblings of some twit your focus. After all, didn’t _you_ admit that based on my postings here my life seems to be waaay more interesting than yours? (To refresh your memory, the topic came up when I suggested that you put me on your “ignore list.”) I’ll also note that this if the first time you’ve reared your head attacking me in a political thread. Kind of funny that someone who appears to be backing the current administration would only do it in a thread wherein the OP is the subject of a pile-on. One would think that if you had any balls, you’d have done this in other threads. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/92 "2007-08-14T19:34:04Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Quite often its very handy to be able to see what expression the folks you’re dealing with are wearing. Rove s going to have a much harder time doing that all the way down in Texas. Funny, that’s _not_ how I’ve heard it described when it’s happened in the past with various administrations. I take it that this means if a Dem takes the White House in '08, you _won’t_ be crowing when one of the members of their staff steps down at some point. [/QUOTE] Jesus, can we please call a cease-fire on this argument tactic? It’s really just a variation on “But-Clinton” strawman. 1. Pin someone as a member of a certain party 2. Generalize what you think someone in that party did, or will in the fugure, say, do, think, believe, opine, espouse 3. Disprove it by whatever means you choose (bonus for using logical fallacy) 4. Like magic, your opponent is now stupid for doing something that you imagine was done (or will be done) by some other imaginary person. Moratorium on both sides, please, for God’s sakes. Name-calling and pie-throwing are preferable to this. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/93 "2007-08-14T19:45:15Z")
**Tucker** , honey, your issues w/ **CarnalK** etc aside, there’s been quite a number of reasonable type folk (assuming I’m reasonable, for example), who also think that the macaca thing was ill advised. you (and others) are ending up derailing a lovely pitting of Rove because of it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/94 "2007-08-14T20:18:17Z")
_The Nation’s_ [David Corn](http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=222612) argues Rove should not be allowed to “cut and run” from the messes he’s made. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/95 "2007-08-14T20:53:32Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] **Cervaise** , do you _really_ think that **Martin** ’s capable of being honest enough with himself to even _think_ that Rove, et. al might not be the greatest thing to happen to this country? [/QUOTE] I don’t care what **Martin Fuckface Hyde** believes, or doesn’t believe, or thinks, or doesn’t think, or even if the fuckface is _capable_ of thinking, the which is an open question for anyone who’s paying attention. All I care about is that nobody give the fuckface anything resembling legitimate ammunition to distract the casual reader away from the real subject of this thread, which is to say, the walking talking cancerous ass-tumor that is Karl Rove. And your bizarre leap to a wholly out-of-place epithet is, indeed, ammunition, onto which **Martin Fuckface Hyde** happily leaped. Do yourself a favor, and more importantly do the _theme of your thread_ a favor, and soak the powder a bit, wouldja? Crimony. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/96 "2007-08-15T00:37:49Z")
[QUOTE=Martin Hyde] Who knows? Probably the biggest reason is, the Attorney General is a Senate confirmed, important public position within the Government. Getting ridd of AG Gonzales means another confirmation battle. Plus, it looks really, really bad when you have to get rid of someone who is in the cabinet because of their actions. [/QUOTE] WHAT? So, we keep people on to save face? Is this anyway to run a country? Hell, is this the way any business is run? Jeebus, IF this is typical GOP thinking, this is messed up. So what if it looks really, really BAD to rid yourself of a nasty piece of work in your staff? A leader does what needs to be done to ensure the integrity of his staff-the better to engender trust from his constituents and people (i.e. US). I seem to recall Bush saying that he would deal harshly with those who were found to have behaved improperly. True, he was referring to Plamegate, but principles are principles–oh, wait. Not for these clowns-the most unprincipled wastes of space I’ve encountered since Nixon et al. And before you take me to task for not citing an impropriety of Rove’s–I refer you to the link in **BrainGlutton’s** post (the Corn article). > [@](#): > > Rove is remarkable in how well known he has become, considering his actual posts within the government. Despite this, I’d bet most Americans, even the ones who would recognize Rove by name probably wouldn’t correctly identify him as _Deputy Chief of Staff_. Nor could they probably even explain the responsibilities of either the Deputy Chief of Staff or the Chief of Staff. How is this relevant? Who cares if Joe American can’t identify him? Do we not judge a man’s character by his words and actions? Does he have to be well known (or potentially toxic) to be removed? He held one of the most influential positions in the country. Frankly, now I’m concerned about those worker bees you mentioned–what the hell are they up to? Rove drove policy decisions, one way or another-no matter his celebrity status or Joe American’s ignorance over his job title. > [@](#): > > Furthermore, it was just one possibility, that Rove was asked to resign because the President viewed him as being toxic. It’s also entirely plausible Rove just doesn’t want to stay on for the full term in a lame duck Presidency. Bush willingly part with his Architect? His turdblossom? I highly doubt it. My thought is that Rove went to him and said, I’m outta here, boyo-sucks to be you…and Bush had no choice but to accept it. > [@](#): > > As for the “playing poker” bit. Andrew Jackson employed an entirely non-official “kitchen cabinet” who wielded exceptional power. Called such because they met with Jackson in the kitchen (at least allegedly.) With modern technology and video conferencing a similar unofficial group of advisers could easily be used by a modern President. Jeebus-there is nothing wrong with a President having advisors–I sincerely hope that all have had such. The problem comes when the scope of advisors is narrow and doesn’t include opposing/alternate points of view. Why am I bothering? It’s like trying to talk to a deaf man in a wind tunnel… ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/97 "2007-08-15T00:46:05Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Kind of funny that someone who appears to be backing the current administration would only do it in a thread wherein the OP is the subject of a pile-on. You really are clueless. I wasn’t “backing the current administration” in any way, shape or form. I used a big Bush lie as an example to point out you own hypocrisy, ffs. You are clearly one of those partisan idiots who thinks anyone who doesn’t laugh at their idiotic Bush jokes is some nutjob Republican. And while I hate to break up the hilarity, what could possibly make you think you are “my focus”? I just posted to a message board, like you do - only about 10 times less often. And **wring** , this maybe could have been a “lovely pitting of Rove” (I guess a hard winter’s a comin’) it would be no thanks to **Tuckerfan**. I mean, come on, how much effort did he put into that OP? He was clearly desperate to be the first one with the scoop on the Dope. “Woot”, quote from link, and “macaca”. Is it really a surprise people seized on it when it’s the only original part of his OP? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/98 "2007-08-15T00:55:28Z")
Steel cage death match. Only possible resolution. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/99 "2007-08-15T01:00:31Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Steel cage death match. Only possible resolution. [/QUOTE] I’d pay $14.95 to see that. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411/100 "2007-08-15T01:28:42Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Steel cage death match. Only possible resolution. [/QUOTE] Well, I’m pretty much done. Tuckerfan just wants to call me a cowardly meanie and darkly hint at my evil machinations from nonnyworld. I guess the million dollar question is “Why should I trot out something so totally unconnected to Rove if I was being serious?” My guess was to imply that Rove was racist, which quite trumps firing lawyers on the bad optics scale, outside of Klan rallies and Bar Association meetings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/karl-rove-bails-out/415411.md?page=6)