# Rove to resign his WH posts **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 13, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447 "2007-08-13T15:56:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/1 "2007-08-13T15:56:58Z")
Story [here.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/13/AR2007081300180.html?hpid=topnews) > [@](#): > > Karl Rove, the architect of President Bush’s two national campaigns and his most prominent adviser through 6-1/2 tumultuous years in the White House, will resign at month’s end and leave politics, a White House spokeswoman said this morning. > > Bush plans to make a statement with Rove on the South Lawn this morning before the president departs for his ranch near Crawford, Tex. Rove, who holds the titles of deputy chief of staff and senior adviser, has been talking about finding the right time to depart for a year, colleagues said, and decided he had to either leave now or remain through the end of the presidency. 1. Is he leaving a sinking ship, or does he just believe his work here is done? 2. Will this change anything in the Administration? ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/2 "2007-08-13T16:06:03Z")
I thought it was odd that White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said, “…this was the right time to be giving more to his family…”. Usually the ‘more time with the family’ bullshit is used when somebody has fucked up real bad, and has been forced to resign in disgrace and/or go to jail. From all accounts Rove could stay in the Cheney administration undermining the remaining integrity of the executive branch until the bitter end. I wonder what’s up? I can’t imagine that his family would really want that goofy-looking, lying, fat, bald-headed fuck around the house. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/3 "2007-08-13T16:09:10Z")
N.B.: There’s already a [Pit thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=432589) on this story, so let’s try to keep this here thread GD-appropriate, all praise and honour be to the Mods. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/4 "2007-08-13T16:21:04Z")
I wonder how this leaves the power structure in the WH, though. Rove had a lot of pull with Bush. Who’s going to step into that power vacuum (or rather, who has, since the “more time with the family” is so clichéd that it is tantamount to saying “he was shitcanned”). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/5 "2007-08-13T16:26:37Z")
Who knows? The ‘spending more time with his family’ may be true. Especially if later on he’s going to work on the next Republican presidential campaign. Or, he may come to work in Britain for David Cameron. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/6 "2007-08-13T16:33:09Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] I thought it was odd that White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said, “…this was the right time to be giving more to his family…”. Usually the ‘more time with the family’ bullshit is used when somebody has fucked up real bad, and has been forced to resign in disgrace and/or go to jail. From all accounts Rove could stay in the Cheney administration undermining the remaining integrity of the executive branch until the bitter end. I wonder what’s up? I can’t imagine that his family would really want that goofy-looking, lying, fat, bald-headed fuck around the house. [/QUOTE] Appeal to emotion. Logical fallacy. ---
**Author:** ![Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Key_Lime_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/7 "2007-08-13T16:38:34Z")
I’m sure his time is better spent in the next year-and-a-half working for Diebold or the next Kathryn Harris. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/8 "2007-08-13T16:40:03Z")
Why look a gift horse in the mouth? My guess though is that Rove simply wants to position himself to be available should one of the Republican candidates desire his services. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Burton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Burton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/9 "2007-08-13T16:50:33Z")
He’s denied he’ll be working on a campaign whatever that’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/10 "2007-08-13T17:12:59Z")
[QUOTE=Burton] He’s denied he’ll be working on a campaign whatever that’s worth. [/QUOTE] And Nick Saban denied he was going to leave the Miami Dolphins for the U. of Alabama job. Rove’ll have a big part in the 2008 GOP candidate’s campaign, I’ve little doubt about that. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/11 "2007-08-13T17:18:03Z")
Has there ever been a White House Deputy Chief of Staff as controversial and well known as Karl Rove? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/12 "2007-08-13T18:32:31Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Appeal to emotion. Logical fallacy. [/QUOTE] You can’t have a logical fallacy without a conclusion that’s being argued for by fallacious means. What’s **randwill** ’s conclusion? AFAICT, it seems to be, ‘for these reasons, I have more questions than answers.’ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/13 "2007-08-13T18:34:44Z")
[QUOTE=xtisme] Why look a gift horse in the mouth? My guess though is that Rove simply wants to position himself to be available should one of the Republican candidates desire his services. -XT [/QUOTE] I agree. It’s a good time for him to take an extended vacation, and still be available to offer his services to the winner of the GOP primaries next February or March. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/14 "2007-08-13T18:48:12Z")
I’m hoping this will make the GOP a bit less effective vis-a-vis Congressional Dems in the interim. Rove was obviously off his game with respect to the 2006 midterms and for a few months afterwards, but ever since the Dems caved on Iraq funding in May, they’ve been bitch-slapping the Dems a bit too successfully for my tastes, with the FISA revision being the crowning example. While I’m sure Rove will keep taking Bush’s phone calls, that’s still a big drop-off from being in the midst of the planning and the action. Maybe this will give the Dems a chance to get their act together, and find their collective backbone. The GOP has other strategists, but Rove was able to play the Dems like a fiddle at times. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/15 "2007-08-13T19:39:45Z")
[Leahy still plans to push forward with the investigation of Rove.](http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/13/leahy-vows-to-press-forward-with-rove-investigation/) [Chris Matthews believes it will now be easier to force Rove to testify.](http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Matthews_Rove_may_be_compelled_to_0813.html) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/16 "2007-08-13T21:14:20Z")
The timing is indicative. When the Admin wants to release bad news and dampen the effect of the news cycle, they typically spill the beans late on Friday. This announcement has been timed to create the maximum possible effect. And witness the number of sources falling all over themselves to praise the Pillsbury Duh-boy. Which leads me to suspect that there is some news coming, something that cannot be avoided, that likely involves Rove. The intent, then, would be to get ahead of it, head it off at the pass. There simply has to be more to it than what we’ve been served. Karl and Bush have clung grimly to his position with a fanatic’s tenacity, and now, for no particular reason, he up and quits? Bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/17 "2007-08-13T21:25:11Z")
It has been widely speculated that Karl Rove was the brains behind George W. Bush. With him leaving, can we now look forward to things going horribly wrong at every turn, with Bush sounding like an idiot when he speaks and a precipitous decline in his popularity? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/18 "2007-08-13T21:54:54Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] [Chris Matthews believes it will now be easier to force Rove to testify.](http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Matthews_Rove_may_be_compelled_to_0813.html) [/QUOTE] Who cares what Tweety thinks? [He’s one seriously messed-up dude.](http://mediamatters.org/items/200708090006?src=item200708090006) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/19 "2007-08-13T22:26:52Z")
Rove has no minor children, so that is a nonsense excuse. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447/20 "2007-08-13T22:59:53Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Rove has no minor children, so that is a nonsense excuse. [/QUOTE] I’m sure all the married couples without children would be pleased to know that they aren’t deserving of time as family. 😛 I’m no fan of Rove, but c’mon! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rove-to-resign-his-wh-posts/415447.md?page=2)