The Hunt for Karl Rove

Now six plus years into the presidency of George W. Bush, I think we can discern a theme in his administration, one that historians will pass on to future generations. I write as a historian myself here, in fact as a "presidential historian," if I may appropriate a title used in modern historiography. Some will scoff at my claim, but in recent years I have written about as many books on presidential high jinks as Michael Beschloss, who is frequently called a presidential historian, though he is not as amused by the presidency as I am.

Perhaps this is because I have mostly written about President Bill Clinton, the modern presidency's closest approximation to the late and laughable President Warren G. Harding. At this point in Clinton's administration several themes were discernible. There was the administration's effort to avoid the prosecutors — as many as seven different officers of the court were out to get the president, his wife and various cabinet officials. There was the president's effort to avoid impeachment and, worse, conviction. Less celebrated, but surely a long-standing theme of Clinton's presidency (and for that matter, of his whole adult life), was his effort to avoid various ghastly sexually transmitted diseases. It is increasingly likely that in the years to come the Clinton administration will figure as prominently in high school history classes as in high school sex education classes, and the lessons to be derived from the latter will probably be more beneficial to the commonweal.

Now in the spring of 2007 I think a perceptible theme has emerged in the Bush administration. Dramatists might entitle it "The Hunt for Karl Rove." Since the 2001 inauguration multitudes of journalists have set out to snare him. Entire Congressional staffs have pursued him.

Clinton...the modern presidency's closest approximation to the late and laughable President Warren G. Harding

Although Clinton is owed a debt of gratitude by all Harding fans, especially if one is a graduate of old Harding High, for rehabilitating the once WC Fieldian memory of Warren G., you are missing an important difference.

Call it "conscience," call it "shame." Warren had it, Bill doesn't. You see, Warren G. KNEW he was a bad boy. Bill thinks he's a good boy, and such is his genius that he has hooked up an adulatory corps of sicko-fants to loudly proclaim it over and over. Face it Irish, we are stuck with this guy until some cheeseburger in paradise takes him down.

In contrast, good old Warren G. had the Christian decency to leave the planet and turn the WH over to a real president. Which leads me to my main "what if" historical (or hysterical) theory. That is, if one Mr. Al Gore had had the cojones to tell B. J. Clinton "Either you resign, or I will," he would be president today. Shoulda, woulda, coulda been ... a Mt. Rushmore moment. Instead, B.J. conned Al into staying on the job, and BTW, treated the silly nitwit like crap thereafter.

I have actually heard that the beauteous Tipper urged her broad-beamed, dim-witted spouse to do exactly that. I am also given to understand that she hated both Clintons with an insane passion, and would have loved to have been able to mud-wrestle and bitch-slap Hillary to the finish on national cable. BTW, I have also heard B.J. hit on her, unsuccessfully, one hopes.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.