Rove's Speech to N.H. Republicans Keeps to Partisan Line

"It would provide a launching pad for the terrorists to strike the United States and the West," he said.

Rove's speech came at a critical point for Republicans, both nationally and in the Granite State, where Bush's approval ratings have mirrored their fall nationally.

The state Republican Party has been hit by a scandal that began when GOP operatives used computerized phone calls to jam the lines at get-out-the-vote operations run by Democrats and labor unions on Election Day in 2002. That scandal has resulted in three convictions and huge legal bills for the party. The state party chairman estimated that 10 to 15 percent of the receipts from Monday night's dinner will go to pay legal bills.

Rove did not spend much time on the party's difficulties, but they may have been reflected in his final point, which was less about the Bush administration's triumphs than its day-to-day perseverance.

He told the story about a friend from Texas who gave him a photo of President Lyndon B. Johnson in despair as he read over a list of Vietnam War casualties. Rove said the friend meant it as a sign that the presidency could break a person. He promised that Bush will not be broken.

And then Rove referenced what he said was his favorite presidential quote, from Warren G. Harding.

"This damn job will kill you," he quoted Harding as saying.

"But it will not this man," Rove said, meaning Bush.