The Republicans' Egg-Scrambler (Rove Still Confident)

Real Clear Politics ^ | October 23, 2006 | Suzanne Fields

[2ndDivisionVet]

Karl Rove obviously keeps his portrait in the attic, like Dorian Gray, with deep lines in a furrowed brow and a taut mouth frozen in anger. Those things must be in the attic because they're not in his face.

The White House political strategist, now 55, is demonized with every category of epithet, but it doesn't show in his demeanor, either. The balding, graying adviser to the president, who has been called "evil genius," hypocritical manipulator of policy, puppeteer pulling the president's strings, looks younger and trimmer up close and personal in the most trying weeks of his life than when he first arrived in Washington nearly six years ago.

Over a lunch of chicken Caesar salad with editors and reporters at The Washington Times, he's jovial and optimistic going into the midterm elections that conventional Washington wisdom says are going the Democratic way. Recalling that one newspaper account described him as "inexplicably upbeat," we asked if he could be merely "explicable." He replied: "I'm confident we're going to keep the Senate. I'm confident we're going to keep the House." A moment later he amended this to "pretty confident," and added, "I liked it better before Foley."

[geezerwheezer]

I am, indeed, the recipient of that rare honor (see post #41) of making a zot happen in cyberspace! Wow, I'll tell that to my grandchildren too. :0 )

[soccermom]

Hmmmmmm.....I'm a little troubled by him ammending his predictions in response to the Foley fallout. I hope it is just for show!

[Irish_Thatcherite]

That happened to me a couple of times....