Catching Up With Karl Rove -- Interview -- Opinion Central -- GOPUSA

Catching Up With Karl Rove -- Interview
By Bill Steigerwald
March 14, 2009

Karl Rove retired in 2007 as President George W. Bush's deputy chief of staff, ace political strategist and mastermind of public policy. But Rove -- aka "Satan" to liberals and not always popular with limited-government conservatives, either -- is very much involved in the daily warfare of partisan politics. A Fox News contributor and a columnist for both The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek, he's also writing a book about his White House days, traveling the speakers circuit and even becoming a star on Twitter.com. When I spoke with him by phone on Tuesday, March 10, from his home in Austin, Texas, the 58-year-old was so upbeat and friendly he began by reciting lines from the Texas state song -- and even offered to sing it.

Q: If President Obama got really desperate and called you up and said, "Mr. Rove, give me some advice about this economic crisis," what would you tell him?

A: I'd say, "Listen to your economic counselor when he said, 'Any efforts to help the economy should be targeted, temporary and timely.' And people respond more to cuts in their taxes than they do to increases in government spending, particularly things that add to baseline permanent spending."

Q: How do think he's doing so far?

A: Well, he's 50 days in. He's off to a strong start in many respects. He's put together most of his Cabinet quickly. He's put together his White House staff quickly. He's moved aggressively on the executive order front. He's been helped by his secretary of State, who's hit the ground running. On the big challenge he faces -- the economy -- his grade is incomplete. But I don't think that he's been as effective on that front as the nation would hope.

The economy will recover. The America economy is just too big and too strong and the American worker and the American entrepreneur and the innovator are just simply too productive not for the economy to recover. But the question is, "Will his policies hasten that day or will they retard that day?" I'm afraid I'm on the side that says it's going to retard that day.

Q: Are you happy to be an observer and commentator instead of a player?

A: Yeah. I mean, look, when you walk into the White House you better walk in with the understanding that your time there will end. It ends no later than eight years. I felt honored to work there nearly seven. You better have enough sense of yourself that you're not defined by the fact that you're in the White House or when you leave -- as you have to leave -- you will have a very unpleasant time. I have a fellow who lives around the corner from me who played a role in the Reagan administration. If you engage him for more than five minutes of conversation, he will remind you of it. In a way, it's sort of sad.

Q: Are you happy with the way you are characterized by your political adversaries and enemies?

A: Much of my definition occurred while I was in the White House. If I had to define happiness or contentment with what other people think or seem to think -- that's not the way to live your life. Particularly when you work in the White House, how you get defined is outside your control. The president used to jokingly say, "Better you than me" when there was some ugly story. That's just the way it is.

Q: How do you define your personal politics?

A: Well, I'm a compassionate conservative. I believe in limited government. I believe in markets. I believe in a robust and strong defense. I believe in traditional values. And I believe that the conservative movement is best served by depicting our philosophy the way that it is -- which is a compassionate and optimistic and hopeful agenda that by emphasizing personal freedom and emphasizing liberty and responsibility gives people the best chance in life to be all they can be -- to develop themselves, to grow, to prosper, to seek their own path in life.

Q: What do you say when someone says to you that "politics is a dirty, rotten, slimy business and it causes all the problems in the country"?

A: Well, democracy is at the heart of our system. The "American Experiment" is based around democracy, which requires elections. Have elections always been pristine and sacrosanct? No. In fact, read the rhetoric of the 1800 campaign and you'll be shocked. It would make the Swift Boat veterans and Americans United for Change look like pansies by comparison.

Q: Did the Bush years damage the Republican Party and hurt its credibility in terms of those old-fashioned GOP principles -- limited government, fiscal prudence, etc.?

A: Look, I would say, less the Bush administration. ... Again, I repeat, yeah, we're spending more on the military. But we were the guys who ratcheted down discretionary domestic spending. We're not the guys who believed in earmarks. Now I understand there is always a tension between what Congress wants and what an executive wants. And I would readily concede that the earmarks hurt us, no ifs, ands or buts about it. But that wasn't the administration. "The Bridge to Nowhere" took all the good that we had done in ratcheting down discretionary spending and washed it all away, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Q: Can the Republican Party regain its stature and power?

A: Oh absolutely. Oh absolutely.

Q: But there are some like David Frum who say the GOP has to give up on its limited-government, small-"g" government attitude and become more Democrat lite.

A: Yeah, there are people who believe that -- I recognize it. There are also people who would be enthusiastic if we did it -- namely a lot of Democrats

Q: You've been demonized by the mainstream media and liberals in general. Is there any one criticism of you that rankles you the most because it is either unfair or wrong?

A: Well, look, nothing rankles me. Frankly, part of the reason that they say ugly things is to get under my skin, so I'm not going to let them. Let me just say this: There are lots of myths about me. I'm like Grendel from "Beowulf." I get talked about a lot but people don't really know who I am. I'm writing a book and I'm going to deal with "the myths of Rove" and all these lovely things people say, but I am going to do so without rancor. Some people don't like me -- fine. Other people in the press believe it is their job to take everybody and whack them around. I drive liberals nuts -- I understand that -- or some liberals nuts. I actually have good friends who are liberals. But I'll deal with it in my book.

Q: How is the book doing?

A: It's a painful process. I understand now how authors come to hate their own work. But I'm having fun.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.