Faux

Jon Stewart outdid himself in this segment... there are no words for the kind of hypocrisy you're about to see, but at least someone called it out:

Bush responds to McClellan

Not sure if you heard, but former White House press secretary Scott McClellan has a new book coming out in which he says he was given false information, which he unwittingly passed on. McClellan blames 5 top White House officials, including the president and vice president, for allowing him to brief the press using lies.

During the CIA leak investigation, McClellan said that White House officials, including Karl Rove, were not involved in the outing of covert agent Valerie Plame. They were.

The woman now in McClellan's old job, Dana Perino, said President Bush "has not and would not knowingly pass false information."

Carville on Rove

Karl Rove and James Carville: two giants of modern politics, each their respective party's most recognizable "behind the scenes" figure. Each man changed the way the game of politics is played, guiding unlikely candidates to the presidency. Rove, known as "Bush's brain," used wedge issues and mobilized the conservative base as George W. Bush's right hand man. Carville, aka the Ragin' Cajun, revolutionized political message and changed how it's delivered.

Yesterday, in a move that brought Gerald Ford's most famous quote to the minds of many Democrats ("Our long national nightmare is over"), Karl Rove announced he is leaving the White House.

Today, the Financial Times has reaction by Carville, Rove's rival and counterpoint.

Carville analyzes how Rove, despite "spectacular success," lost "a generation of Republicans" for his party. He really takes Rove to task in this. Check it out. In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for Carville in Washington, DC, and think he's the man.

Casting Couch: Karl Rove

Karl Rove: the man behind the man. Rove has been in politics almost all his life. Despite growing up in the 60s, he has always been a conservative, and dropped out of college to work for the College Republicans and go campus to campus organizing conservative groups (he somehow kept his student deferment out of Vietnam). Basically, the guy was something of a political nerd, lacking charm, looks, and family connections.

Throughout Rove's campaign work he has been dogged by accusations of dirty tricks. He was accused of using racist and homophobic innuendo to turn voters away from his opposition in many campaigns.

Rove came to the national spotlight through his consultation of George W. Bush, the man with charm and family connections to spare. He guided Bush from failed businessman, to the Texas governorship, to the presidency, and along the way picked up the moniker "Bush's brain."

Through his relationship to Bush, Rove has come very rare power and prestige.



That is why (at the suggestion of SAM blogger Doug Flynn) we are casting Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars as Karl Rove. They are that shadowy figure behind the one getting who gets all the attention. They are the voice whispering in their protege's ear.

And they are both pure evil.

"The force is strong with this one."

Click for past casting couch segments:

Bill Richardson

Barack Obama

Fred Thompson

Hillary Clinton