Good Question
In today's online chat, Dan Froomkin took my question:
Chico, Calif.: Is there still a sense that, even though Rove and Company hit the "Rally Base" button hard and often, Bush is still trying to do what he thinks is best for the country?
Dan Froomkin: I think you have just asked one of the most important questions of the second term. It first came to me during all these Social Security events, where the White House was only letting in people who essentially agreed with Bush. Doesn't he seem himself as the president of all the people?
And Rove of course is at the febrile center of this question. As I wrote in my newly updated Who's Who in the White House recently, Rove, with his new deputy chief of staff duties, "is the poster child for how politics and policy have merged in the Bush White House. Traditionally, governing is a considerably different matter than running for office, where winning is everything. Not so with Rove. If he eventually starts losing, he could end up taking the blame for creating a divisive presidency, aimed more at achieving partisan goals than the common good. But if he keeps winning, he will be a kingmaker even as his boss becomes a lame duck -- and his legacy could be a GOP that is indeed the ruling party for decades to come."
