he is an evil pile of excrement.

 Many consider him to be...

a)  The real power behind George W. Bush

b)  An evil demonic monster.

c)  Both.

A political strategest or advisor, not a politician. I don't think he has ever run for office.

Definitely polarizing, but I'm certain that he doesn't mind having that reputation. Rove is the master at "divide and conquer" politics. This is the idea that conservatives can win by running up large margins in districts where they run strong while ignoring the rest. Rove built a conservative coalition to win the elections of 2000 and 2004 and he executed ruthlessly and efficiently. It is sort of like specialization in business: doing one thing and doing it well. However in politics, using such a strategy has pitfalls, as we have seen in recent years. Polarizing the political system is not practical when you're governing and also trying to grow the party. That was Rove's biggest failure.

Karl's idea of a good time is to divide and conquer. He's divisive. Thinks of everyone in terms of their weakness and base insticts. I hope we Democrats can come up with someone so DIABOLICAL.

UPDATE: Does anyone have knowledge of any evidence which might exist that justifies the smear campaign currently being waged against Karl Rove? This display of irresponsible reporting and wishful thinking on the part of what we used to call the mainstream press is funny and sad. My slant on it is this: let the investigation take place, in full view of the American electorate and make public the facts. Sorry, but calling Rove a criminal without a shred of evidence, even here in opinion-land, is irresponsible. If he gets indicted or charged with a crime, I'll pay attention and will call for his prosecution (are you still with me, Klintonistas?). Until then, this is political rhetoric, and who is spewing it the loudest? ORIGINAL COMMENT 11/12/04: Rove has become the lightning rod of liberal hatred by engineering a surprisingly successful re-election campaign. If responsibility for an association with the switboat vets attaches itself to Rove, along with many other unseemly acts, then Terry McAuliffe should also be tarred with responsibility for the actions of MoveOn.org and many other liberal activist groups. Rove's effort is being rewarded in the same way Carville and Begala were credited with engineering the 1992 upset win by the Comeback Kid Bill Clinton. I don't think CNN will be calling him, offering him a spot on Crossfire, though.

A villain second to none. Rove's motto might as well be: Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap. Bush's nickname for Rove: Turd Blossom. Well, the Turd part is apropos. It could be said that Rove's hand rocks the cradle of the GW Bush presidency, or at least set that cradle in motion. Without Rove's underhanded Machiavellian strategery, there would be no Bush presidency now. Instead we might have been hailing President McCain, or President Gore. Either would have been better for our country. Blame Rove.