Courage and Consequence
鈥淚 hate you. You hate me.鈥� With these six less-than cordial words, future Minnesota Sen. Al Franken introduced himself to George W. Bush consigliere Karl Rove at a White House Correspondents鈥� Association dinner in 2005. In Courage and Consequence, his new memoir, Rove remembers his Zen-like reply to the 鈥渙bnoxious comedian鈥�: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know you, so how could I hate you?鈥�
Don鈥檛 buy the fake equanimity. 鈥淐ourage and Consequence鈥� is uncompromising and, in its defense of compassionate conservatism and the Bush administration, unrelenting. For Rove, a quiet man so unlike extroverted, egomaniacal White House divas like Henry Kissinger or Rahm Emmanuel, it鈥檚 also, unfortunately, unrevealing.
鈥淭here is something about the West that encourages individualism and personal responsibility, values I thought best reflected by Republicans,鈥� Rove writes. This reference to the landscape of his hardscrabble childhood, spent in Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, is about as close as the author gets to chronicling the birth of his political philosophy born of a dark past. Rove was not told he was adopted until he was out of high school, and his biological mother killed herself in 1981 鈥� but the evolution of his conservatism gets short shrift. His flip dismissal of his stepfather鈥檚 alleged homosexuality 鈥� 鈥淚 have no idea if my father was gay, and, frankly, I don鈥檛 care鈥� 鈥� is hardest to swallow. Rove helped elect a president who advocated a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Whatever their position on same-sex marriage rights, his readers deserve to hear more.
Its author鈥檚 right-wingedness established, 鈥淐ourage and Consequence鈥� tracks Rove鈥檚 ascent. After making his bones as national chairman of the College Republicans during Nixon鈥檚 second term, Rove became a Texas state legislator鈥檚 aide after Gerald Ford鈥檚 doomed 1976 campaign. 鈥淩epublicans like me were quite an oddity,鈥� Rove writes, describing demographic changes in a state ripe for a GOP takeover with wonkish enthusiasm. Ideology takes a back seat to Rove鈥檚 love of electioneering arcana; 鈥淐ourage and Consequence鈥� focuses on direct mail campaigns and percentages of undecideds more than conservative rhetoric. 鈥淸E]ight hallmarks鈥� of a 鈥淩ovian campaign鈥� have nothing to do with small government Republicanism, but with 鈥渟ophisticated modeling to identify potential supporters鈥� and 鈥渢he broadest possible use of volunteer-friendly technology.鈥� Rove likes thinking about what it takes to win almost more than winning itself.
But 鈥� 鈥楻ovian鈥� campaign theories were about to be tested on a big state with consequences few could anticipate,鈥� Rove writes with uncharacteristic understatement. Bush, pitched as an education candidate, trounced flamboyant Democrat Ann Richards to win the Texas governship in 1994. After Bush won reelection in 1998, Bush set his eyes 鈥� or, rather, Rove set Bush鈥檚 eyes 鈥� on the White House. 鈥淚 was the one brash enough to bring it up,鈥� Rove says of the genesis of a second Bush in the White House. His enthusiasm is unsurprising; Rove鈥檚 support of Bush is personal before professional, and often evangelical. 鈥淚 went from being a longtime friend to being a political partner,鈥� he writes. When Bush, unable to believe he鈥檚 won Bush v. Gore, hangs up on Rove when he calls with the news, Rove emotes: 鈥淚 was standing in my pajamas, looking out a hotel window into a dark, deserted office park, having been hung up on by the man who would now be president.鈥�
The remainder of 鈥淐ourage and Consequences鈥� presents a rose-colored version of that presidency. Though Rove admits Bush isn鈥檛 a great debater, Rove鈥檚 president is rarely wrong; when he is, it鈥檚 Rove鈥檚 fault. Rove takes the fall for Bush鈥檚 failed Social Security reform (鈥淚 was ... banking too much on a newly reelected president鈥檚 ability to move Congress鈥�), Harriet Miers鈥檚 failed Supreme Court bid (鈥淢y antennae should have been sharper鈥�), and the administration鈥檚 slow response to Katrina (鈥淚鈥檓 one of the people responsible for this mistake鈥�). Rove does his best to bust the myth that he鈥檚 a right-wing Svengali by denying that he smeared John McCain during the 2000 primary, swiftboated John Kerry, or leaked Valerie Plame鈥檚 name during the Joe Wilson episode, in which he narrowly escaped indictment.
But there鈥檚 also plenty for Bush/Rove to be right about, including the Iraq war and the 2007 troop surge. On the war on terror, Rove鈥檚 prose glows. 鈥淒id America have the resolve to win this new and dangerous conflict?鈥� Rove asks. 鈥淵es, America did 鈥� because its president did.鈥�
Still, the man Bush called 鈥淏oy Genius鈥� remains shrouded. Why did Rove鈥檚 two marriages end in divorce? How does he feel about Toby Jones鈥檚 portrayal of him as a fawning weirdo in Oliver Stone鈥檚 鈥淲.?鈥� And why didn鈥檛 he ever run for public office himself? One reads 鈥淐ourage and Consequence鈥� waiting for an Oz moment, when the curtain is pulled back to reveal the man behind the curtain. Here, there鈥檚 just more curtain.
Justin Moyer is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.
