WASHINGTON - White House political mastermind Karl Rove surrendered a key policy role Wednesday and press secretary Scott McClellan resigned in an escalation of a Bush administration shake-up driven by Republican anxieties.
Rove gave up his responsibilities as chief policy coordinator, a position he assumed just over a year ago that strengthened his influence over matters ranging from homeland security and domestic policy to the economy and national security. The promotion had left him stretched too thin in the eyes of some officials, as the White House grappled with mounting problems.
With Wednesday's change, Rove will be able to focus more on politics, fundraising and big-picture thinking with the approach of the November congressional elections, officials said.
A major force in the administration from the start, Rove still is expected to have a big voice in policy but not the day-to-day oversight. Those responsibilities will shift to Joel Kaplan, who was promoted to deputy chief of staff from the No. 2 job in the White House budget office where he had served as Joshua Bolten's lieutenant.
What this means is that Rove will step away from the day-to-day policy decisions, and focus on how to maintain the Republican control of Congress for the midterm elections. The Bush White House is realizing that all their political spin isn't helping them at the polls, where a majority of Americans now believe that the Democrats will do a better job in control of Congress than the Republicans. And if the Democrats do regain control of Congress, the White House might as well paint a "bullseye" target in the front for all the congressional investigations into scandals after scandals that the Democrats will be launching. The Bush administration really doesn't have any policy successes they can tout--not when 70 percent of the American public thinks the country is on the wrong track--and their war in Iraq has been a disaster. So what is left for the Republican campaign strategy? Elect the Republicans because if you elect the Democrats in Congress, then they will impeach the "wartime president" George Bush?
This change isn't a White House shake-up. It is a change of electoral desperation--the fear of the Republican loss of complete control of the three branches of the government. It is the fear that the Bush White House will have to answer to their abuse of power, and the Republican desire to create a dictatorship, dominated by one party. Shifting Rove away from the day-to-day policy decisions, to concentrating on the Republican campaign strategy for this year, shows that the Bush White House is worried about a massive Republican defeat at the polls. And they are sending their best campaign manager in to stem this possible defeat.
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