Politics in Rovewell's 2005

Armando links to a Newsweek article by Howard Fineman which gets to the heart--as much as Fineman ever has--of the mechanics of Rove's political machinations. I especially like this tidbit:

In the World According to Karl Rove, you take the offensive, and stay there. You create a narrative that glosses over complex, mitigating facts to divide the world into friends and enemies, light and darkness, good and bad, Bush versus Saddam.

This one quoted by Armando is also good:

. . . You use the jujitsu of media flow to flip the energy of your enemies against them. The Boss never discusses political mechanics in public. But in fact everything is political--and everyone is fair game.

Yes, Rove as Sunzi (Sun-tzu). And here is Armando's take:

There is no ethic, law, decency or national interest that trumps the political fortunes and powers of the GOP in Rove World. Indeed, in that sense, this is the most corrupt Administration since Nixon. Unfortunately, unlike the Nixon Administration, it appears that there is and was not one competent official involved in GOVERNING rather than politics in the Bush Administration. This combination of incompetence and lack of respect for law, ethic, truth and decency has proven a disastrous combination, leading to the worst administration in American history. And I say this without hyperbole.

There is more. Here is the complete Fineman article.