Rove's good-bye kiss: Critics of 'clear-eyed' Bush will be wrong like critic of Vietnam war Nick Juliano

Published: Friday August 31, 2007





Print This Email This On his last day in the White House, Karl Rove gave President Bush one last politically charged booster shot. In an essay published by the conservative National Review, Rove predicted that the president he has loyally served for more than a decade would be judged positively by history, and he took the opportunity to bash calls for a withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Rove reiterated the comparison of a troop withdrawal to the aftermath of Vietnam. "History will see President Bush as right, and the opponents of his policy as mistaken -- as George McGovern was in his time," Rove wrote. President Bush made headlines earlier this month when he reminded of the years of turmoil that followed America's withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975, and some historians said Bush's analogy to the situation in Iraq was inaccurate. Rove argued that history's view of Bush would be more "clear-eyed" than the assessments of current administration critics. "He will be judged as a man of moral clarity who put America on a wartime footing in the dangerous struggle against radical Islamic terrorism," Rove wrote. Rove praised some of the president's most controversial policies, including his No Child Left Behind initiative, which some states have called intrusive, and his decision not to join the Kyoto agreement, which aimed to reduce global carbon emissions. The political guru trumpeted Bush's economic record, claiming the 2003 tax cuts led to economic growth. Bush pursued and aggressive series of tax cuts almost as soon as he was elected, and some say his economic policies have created greater inequality. On fighting genocide in Darfur, Rove argued that Bush hadn't "refused to act," despite his resistance to adding US troops to the region to stop the violence. "While most of the globe ignored Sudan and Darfur or refused to act, this president labeled the violence there genocide  and pressed world leaders to take action," Rove wrote of the extent of the president's involvement. Rove has nothing but kind words for the man he has known for nearly 34 years. Without another campaign to run for the president, Rove announced earlier this month that he would be leaving his post at the White House. Friday was his last day.



