"Anyone involved in leaking the name of a covert CIA operative..."

[Laura PourMeADrink]

WILL BE FIRED




http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13375505/
Fall elections are Rove's next test
Reputation as architect of victory at stake

Duane A. Laverty / AP
President Bush speaks with advisor Karl Rove, right, in front of Marine One at TSTC Airfield, in Waco, Texas, Friday.
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By Jim VandeHei and Dan Balz

Updated: 12:05 a.m. CT June 17, 2006
White House political strategist Karl Rove emerges from the CIA leak case with his reputation scuffed, his power slightly diminished, and Republicans counting on him, once again, to help rescue their House and Senate majorities.

Described by friends as relieved and recharged after getting the news this week that he will not be indicted in the leak probe, Rove now faces another verdict this fall over his abilities as a political strategist and his ambition to build an enduring GOP majority.

Rove's reputation as a campaign operative is unparalleled -- he is hailed by President Bush as the architect of his 2004 reelection -- but his judgment in melding politics and policy into an effective governing strategy has been called into question in the president's second term. Bush endured the worst stretch of his presidency when Rove's powers inside the White House were at their peak.