Will Karl be a genius again by November?

It used to be a matter of bi-partisan agreement that Karl Rove was a political genius: The divide was over whether the prefix evil was necessary. But as Bush’s polling ratings have gone into free-fall so has the legend of Rove, slightly unfairly as The Note points out. This new job, though, might just breathe ...

It used to be a matter of bi-partisan agreement that Karl Rove was a political genius: The divide was over whether the prefix evil was necessary. But as Bush’s polling ratings have gone into free-fall so has the legend of Rove, slightly unfairly as The Note points out.

It used to be a matter of bi-partisan agreement that Karl Rove was a political genius: The divide was over whether the prefix evil was necessary. But as Bush’s polling ratings have gone into free-fall so has the legend of Rove, slightly unfairly as The Note points out.

This new job, though, might just breathe new life into it. But it is a demotion, I hear you cry. Well that’s not really the issue. His new role, as Howard Fineman points out, sticks Rove with the result of the midterms. At the moment everyone is talking about a reverse ’94, Democratic tidal wave, Republican meltdown etc.. Yet, there are reasons to think that Republicans might not do that badly because of gerrymandered electoral districts, inbuilt incumbent advantages, the relative strength of the economy, and the Dems ability to blow opportunities.

If all of these factors add up to the Republicans keeping control of both the House and the Senate you can bet your bottom dollar that the press corps will start writing those “greatest political mind of his generation” stories all over again. Although, all bets are off if Prosecutor Fitzgerald pulls the trigger.

James Forsyth is assistant editor at Foreign Policy.

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