Karl Rove's Legacy

People tend to leave footprints or legacies. It is, of course, impossible to tell what a person's long term legacy will be.

When Harry Truman left office most people presumed his legacy was going to be a bad one. As time went on, however, people looked back on his straight talking common sense approach to things and came to appreciate it. Now everyone wants to be the next Harry Truman.

George H. W. Bush, not unlike Truman, left office with a negative legacy. As time has gone on, however, his foreign policy decisions and ability to interact with other world leaders has improved his legacy. Ironically it was his own son's truly bad foreign policy decisions and inability to interact with other world leaders that great improved the Elder President Bush's stature.

Karl Rove is leaving the White House. On one hand people say he was brilliant. He guided George W. Bush to victory as Governor of Texas, helped create a Republican majority in Congress, and helped Bush win two terms in the White House. His strategy was to run towards the base and not seek middle ground. It was successful in winning elections and in passing some legislation.

However, it estranged the center and has made it completely impossible to accomplish anything else. Good policy often comes when people work together and grievous errors are made when only one perspective is ever examined and other opinions are vilified. Much of the hostility we see in Washington DC these days comes as the result of the strategy of Karl Rove. He may take pride in that legacy-----but if my legacy was an ability to please one group of people and create hostility with another, I'd be ashamed of myself.

The second legacy he has left behind has been a legacy of making sure everything and everyone is in synch politically. Experienced FEMA leadership and staff were replaced by people who were more attractive politically. The same thing took place in the Justice Department. The policy at FEMA became a Katrina sized disaster. Attorneys at the Justice Department now regularly LOSE their cases because the experience, competent lawyers were replaced by politically loyal appointees who great lacked the experience and often the education needed to do their jobs. These departments became more political and lost sight of the fact that their primary job was to serve the people of the nation. Katrina demonstrated politics and service. The Salvation Army which truly does try to serve people demonstrated that they make serving others a priority. They were the first people on the scene to provide food and comfort. Their legacy of service is long and honorable. FEMA's however, was forever tarnished.

If my legacy was that I lived my life assured that the people around me agree with me and by doing so I failed to serve others well, I'd be ashamed of myself.

I suspect that Karl Rove will leave the White House with his head held high and his chest puffed with pride. If his legacy was mine, I think I'd leave with my head bowed and devastated at the number of people whose lives I have damaged.