Giving the Rove His Due

I have to hand it to Karl Rove. In response to good old fashioned licking the GOP took in the midterm election (the Iraq midterm), the advisor has been carefully crafting some solid PR to steal the headlines away from the Democratic Party's glory.

It's obvious that firing Rummy was planned a while ago, and it's smart--from a PR standpoint--for the President to make a big announcement of Rummy's resignation as a response to the Republican thumping. The move on the surface indicates that the Bush administration, after six years of not doing so, is willing to reach out to Democractic leadership. Now they have to, and they created good PR by turning the resignation of Rummy into a perception that things will change.

What's comical to me is that so many pundits and politicans have stated that the Dems need to work in a bipartisan manner with Republicans. Where was that sentiment when the GOP controlled Congress? For a party that loves to paint itself in Christian terms, they sure haven't walked the walk on "do unto others..." As has been chronicled over the course of Bush's tenure, Democratic leaders have been shut out of negotiations and decision making in Congress.

While it makes sense for the greater good of the country and from a political/perceptual standpoint that Democrats work with the GOP in a bipartisan manner, I certainly hope there is some serious investigation into where all our money has gone and is going in Iraq.