Rove - Too Much Credit?

Has Karl Rove been given too much credit for the political successes of the Republican party?

I ask myself this question, wondering just how much I know about the inner machinations of the RNC, yet I think that his position has and has not been overstated. As a moderate, my usual answer is maybe, and this time is not an exception.

Rove's role in past elections has been tremendous, but I wonder just how effective he would have been without the income that Tom DeLay's K Street programs provided, or the shady influence that was bought through Cheney's office? Furthermore, I wonder just how key he would have been, had he not been dealing with a legion of fully compliant media outlets, that would take even the most radical conservative opinions entirely at face value? Was he truly some sort of mastermind, or just the money-changer at America's filthiest temple? John Ashcroft, and old foe of we Missouri voters, was the first member of the administration to draw the line between supporters of Bush and those who support the terrorists. Was this at Rove's behest? Furthermore, the first scandal that started to tear apart the administration was the Valery Plame scandal, which seems to always lead to an indictment for Rove, no matter how many times he sees fit to assert his executive privelige or amend his testimony. That scandal, coupled with his inability to keep discipline in many parts of the administration (The Justice Department), led to a whole flock of cronies spilling their guts about all sorts of horrible skeletons in the adminstration's closets. I can't help but think that Rove could have prevented all of this.

I am all for giving due praise to a master of Realpolitik, but Rove is certainly not one. He has had epithets heaped upon him, including comparisons to "Machiavelli," but he simply has not warrented these. He never could have succeeded against the crack team of PR men in the Clinton White House, which very adeptly managed to tear down Newt Gingrich, among other once-successful Republicans. Furthermore, the only way that Rove could get Bush elected was to make a bunch of wishy-washy liberal promises in the 2000 election, save for the surplus check refund. Thus, I doubt that the end of Rove is really akin to slaying a dragon. Rove was simply moving from one lucky win to another, and his fortune seems to have finally run out.