Farewell, Karl Rove

The left's favorite punching bag is headed off into the sunset.

Karl Rove is leaving the White House at the end of August. Why? He wants to spend more time with his family:

Mr. Rove, who has held a senior post in the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001, told Mr. Gigot he first floated the idea of leaving a year ago. But he delayed his departure as, first, Democrats took Congress, and then as the White House tackled debates on immigration and Iraq, he said.

He said he decided to leave after White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told senior aides that if they stayed past Labor Day they would be obliged to remain through the end of the president's term in January 2009.

"I just think it's time," Mr. Rove said in the interview. "There's always something that can keep you here, and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family." Mr. Rove and his wife have a home in Ingram, Texas, and a son who attends college in nearby San Antonio. In the interview,

Mr. Rove said he expects Democrats to give the 2008 presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he described as "a tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate." He also said Republicans have "a very good chance" to hold onto the White House in next year's elections.

Rove may be the toughest political operative to come out of either political party in a while. An encyclopedic mind, a brilliant tactician, and a back alley brawler extraordinaire, Rove regularly skewered Democrats and the left over their perceived defeatism and wishy washiness in fighting the War on Terror. For this, he earned the everlasting enmity of his political opponents and became a favorite target of Democrats during the numerous investigations they have carried out on the Bush Administration.

His departure will leave a huge hole in the President's personal staff. Rove bridged the political and policy worlds for Bush and was often the point man for the President on domestic agenda items. But following the 2006 electoral debacle, Rove's role was reduced - a probable reason for his departure.

The lame duck status of this President is now official. Bush has yeilded the floor to his political opponents. What they do with it will play a large role in the races for Congress and the presidency in 2008.