It's George, not Karl

Just a quickie to note a great post from Political Aims on the Karl Rove Experience:

But here’s the best reason to start treating Karl like any other political hack—doing otherwise plays directly into a strategy that isolates Bush from responsibility for political dirtywork. [] There is no way that Karl Rove is the Great Oz operating everything behind the curtain while Bush just moves his lips. But if we perpetuate that almighty Rove image, Bush gets to escape questions about his own responsibility for the blatant politicization of everything from policy (choose a topic) to tragedy (the 2004 GOP convention and 9/11 tie-ins are shameless).

I couldn’t agree more. As I said way, way back in my second post ever, calling Bush a moron—as opposed to the very clever, amoral political manipulator that he is—just gives him a free pass on all of his despicable policies and behaviors. We have to stop. The man is clearly not stupid; if he were, he would not keep winning. Saying that Rove is his “brain”, that Rove is the evil mastermind and Bush just a charming bumbler, only allows Bush use “Aw shucks!” as his response to every indictment of his malevolent, deceitful, warmongering administration. He loves it when you call him stupid. It lets him off the hook.

George is the mad scientist. Karl is just his wicked little homunculus.

Filed under: politics