Rove Ends Turbulent White House Tenure

President Bush's Top Political Strategist To Step Down At End Of August

(CBS/AP)  In a telephone interview from the plane, Rove said his departure should not be taken as a sign of decline in Mr. Bush's presidency.

"Look, he's a very competitive guy," Rove said of the president. "None of us is indispensable or unreplaceable except (Bush) and Dick Cheney, and they ain't going anywhere. And he will use every lever at his command and use every power that he's got as president — which is considerable."

"I think it will be wishful thinking on the part of the president's critics to think this means anything other than a staff change at the White House," Rove said.

White House officials readily acknowledge that Rove's departure was a blow. Known as a ruthless political warrior, Rove possessed a love of history, an encyclopedic command of political minutiae and a wonkish love of policy.

"Karl is going to be missed," said White House counselor Ed Gillespie, who got his job in June when another longtime Bush loyalist, Dan Bartlett, resigned. "Obviously those of us who are staying in place need to pick up our game and step up. It's going to be hard. Karl is a major, major factor. But we can do it."

"The last 18 months, having a fresh set of eyes and advisers, is not necessarily a bad thing," Bartlett said. "Karl will be missed. He cuts a large swath."

"The absence of Rove will create a situation sort of like Paul McCartney without John Lennon. The music will be different," Wayne Slater, author of the Rove biography "Bush's Brain" told CBS News Radio.

"He created an overarching political strategy that enabled the Republican Party to achieve tremendous national success for five years, beyond what it would have done, through his intellect, his knowledge and his discipline," said GOP strategist Frank Luntz. "He built a governing coalition that held until November 2006" when Democrats took control of Congress.

Skillful in campaigns, he was less successful in helping Mr. Bush govern, particularly in the second term. After boasting he had political capital to spend, Mr. Bush failed to win his major policy goals: reforming the immigration system, overhauling the tax system and remaking Social Security and putting it on a path to solvency. Rove was forced to relinquish his role as chief policy coordinator last year but, aides said, he never lost his influence with the president.

Rove, speaking with reporters on Air Force One, said he had friends in all the Republican presidential campaigns but did not intend to take a formal role with any of them. "I do want to see this president succeeded by a Republican. I'll be happy to — you know, if they ask my opinion — I'm an opinionated person."

He also said he would write a book, with Mr. Bush's encouragement. Some publishing houses expressed interest but cautioned against expectations of big money, in part because the book was sanctioned by Mr. Bush.

Rove, currently the deputy White House chief of staff, met George W. Bush in the early 1970s when both men were in their 20s. Rove was a special assistant to Mr. Bush's father, then the chairman of the Republican National Committee.

He was on board from the beginning of Mr. Bush's political career, first helping him when he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1978.