Karl Rove

Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950 in Denver, Colorado) is an American political consultant, and (as of 2005) U.S. President George W. Bush's senior advisor, chief political strategist, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff in charge of policy.

Consulting business and work in politics in 1990-2000

In 1993, according to the New York Times, Karl Rove + Company was paid $300,000 in consulting fees by John Ashcroft's successful Senate campaign (Ashcroft paid Rove more than $700,000 over the course of three campaigns). In 1999, Karl Rove + Company was paid $2.5 million in fees by the successful George W. Bush presidential campaign. According to Rove, "bout 30 percent of that is postage."

Related Topics:
New York Times - John Ashcroft

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According to Richard H. Davis (the campaign manager of John McCain's 2000 presidential bid), a telephone push poll was conducted during the 2000 South Carolina primaries which asked potential voters "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for John McCain for president if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?" http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/03/21/the_anatomy_of_a_smear_campaign/. McCain was campaigning with his adopted, dark-skinned Bangladeshi daughter at the time. According to Davis, the push poll was designed to suggest that the girl had been fathered illegitimately by McCain. In a 2004 editorial Davis called the push poll "effective and anonymous: the perfect smear campaign" and that he "had no idea who had made those calls, who paid for them, or how many were made". The authors of the 2003 book Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential (also made into a movie) allege that Rove was involved in this push poll due to his intimate role as campaign advisor to Bush. In the movie, John Weaver, political director for McCain's 2000 campaign bid, says "I believe I know where that decision was made; it was at the top of the campaign." Rove has denied any such involvement.

Related Topics:
John McCain - Push poll

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After the presidential elections in November 2000, Karl Rove organized an emergency response of Republican politicians and supporters to go to Florida to assist the Bush campaign's position during the recount.

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George W. Bush was inaugurated in January 2001. Rove accepted a position in the Bush administration as Senior Advisor to the President. The President's confidence in Rove is such that during a meeting with South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun on 14 May 2003, President George W. Bush brought only Rove and then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

Related Topics:
South Korea - Roh Moo-hyun - 14 May - 2003 - National Security Advisor - Condoleezza Rice

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Other Republican politicians who have sought Rove's advice include Arnold Schwarzenegger, who in anticipation of a special recall election later that year met with Rove on 10 April 2003 to discuss how the actor should run for Governor of California.

Related Topics:
Arnold Schwarzenegger - 10 April - 2003 - California

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