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Karl Rove (born December 25, 1950 in Denver, Colorado) is currently U.S. President George W. Bush's chief political strategist.

After dropping out of the University of Utah in 1971, Karl Rove began his political career as the Executive Director of the College Republican National Committee. He held this position until 1972 when he became the National Chairman of the College Republicans (1973-1974). As chairman, Rove had access to many powerful politicians and government officials during the Watergate scandal, including then CIA director George H. W. Bush. For the next few years, he worked in various Republican Circles and assisted George H. W. Bush's 1980 presidential campaign. At the time, Rove's greatest claim to fame was that he had introduced Lee Atwater to George H. W. Bush.

In 1981, Rove founded a direct mail consulting firm, Karl Rove & Co., which was based out of Austin, Texas. This firm's first clients included Republican Governor Bill Clements and Democratic Congressman Phil Gramm, who later became a Republican. In 1993, Rove began advising George W. Bush's gubernatorial campaign. He continued, however, to operate his consulting business until 1999, when he sold the firm to focus his efforts on George W. Bush's bid for the presidency.

After Bush became the 43rd president, Karl Rove took a White House position as a Senior Advisor to the President. Rove is generally considered one of the most influential advisors in the Bush administration, and he has earned a reputation as an aggressive campaigner.

Controversial history

Rove is known in Washinton for his cutthroat political methods and tactics. As early as 1971, Rove demonstrated a peculiar nack for sleazy methology by sneaking into the campaign office of Illinois Democrat Alan Dixon and stole some letterhead, upon which he printed 1,000 fliers, promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing," distributing these to homeless shelters.

After dropping out of the University of Utah in 1971, Karl Rove started his political career as the executive director of the College Republican National Committee. He held this position until 1972 when he became the National Chairman of the College Republicans (1973-1974). As chairman, Rove had access to many powerful politicians and government officials during the Watergate scandal, including then CIA director George H. W. Bush. For the next few years, he worked in various Republican Circles and assisted George H. W. Bush's 1980 presidential campaign. Rove's greatest claim to fame at the time, was that he had introduced Lee Atwater to George H. W. Bush.

In 1993, according to the New York Times, John Ashcroft's campaign pays Karl Rove & Co. over 300,000 US to aid his senate race. In 1999, the George Walker Bush campaign effort pays Karl Rove & Co. $2.5M for July through December. According to Rove, "About 30 percent of that is postage."

In 2000, during the Republican Primary, the candidate to beat was the "war hero" and former POW, John McCain. McCain then was widely noted as a man of integrity —for fighting corruption and advocating for political campaign reform. (See Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002) Rove allegedly began a whisper campaign against McCain —telemarketers where hired to call voters in South Carolina, claiming that McCain betrayed his fellow POWs and fathered interracial children. The rumors had no basis in fact, but appeared to be successul in changing the thinking of enough voters to cost McCain the GOP primary. In November 2000, Karl Rove organized an emergency migration of Republican allied politicians and operatives to Florida, for the purpose of assisting the Bush campaign by various means, among the tactics used was the agressive bullying of the media, Democratic party advocates, and local Florida state officials.

In March 2001, White House political adviser Karl Rove met with executives from Intel, sucessfully advocating a merger between a Dutch company and an Intel company supplier—Rove owned $100,000 in Intel Co. stock at the time. In June 2001, Rove met with two pharmaceutical industry lobbyists —at the time, Rove held almost $250,000 in drug industry stocks. On the 30th June 2001, Rove divests his stocks in 23 companies, which included more than $100,000 in each Enron, Boeing, General Electric, and Pfizer. On the 30th June 2001, the White House admits that political adviser Rove was involved in administration energy policy meetings, while at the same time holding stock in energy companies including Enron.

On April 10, 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger meets with White House political adviser Karl Rove to discuss whether the actor should run for Governor of California in 2006. On the 14th May, 2003, during a meeting with South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, President George W. Bush brings only National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Rove.

Leaked CIA agent identity

On the 29th of August, 2003, retired ambassador Joseph C. Wilson names Karl Rove as the White House insider who leaked his wife's identity as a CIA operative to the press. If true, the act of publicly exposing the identity of an undercover CIA operative is considered an act of treason—because it endangers the life of the operative, and threatens to expose secrets considered matters of national security.

See Agent identity scandal

External links

• Karl Rove - Disinfopedia article
• Joseph C. Wilson IV - Disinfopedia article

Further Reading

• Boy Genius: Karl Rove, the Brains Behind the Remarkable Political Triumph of George W. Bush, Lou Dubose, Jan Reid and Carl Cannon, 2003, Paperback, 256 pages, ISBN 1586481924.
• Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential, James C. Moore and Wayne Slater, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, hardcover, 416 pages, ISBN 0471423270.