Rove Doing His Part to Help Shape a Positive Legacy for Bush

Some of the president's own supporters seem to be coming to grips with the prospect of a much less powerful Bush legacy than they had once imagined. In an essay in the current issue of Texas Monthly, Matthew Dowd -- chief strategist for the 2004 Bush reelection campaign -- voiced disappointment that Bush's "promise to reform government in a fundamental way never fully happened," partly because of GOP success in the 2002 midterm elections.

When "all the levers of power in Washington became Republican, creating consensus seemed to become unnecessary at the White House," Dowd wrote. "That hurt him. Now, near the end of his presidency, when many of us thought we would have helped solve the problem of polarization, we're in an even more polarized place."

In the West Wing interview, Rove adopted a longer view, citing the policy of containment of the Soviet Union, adopted by Truman in the 1940s and then embraced by a succession of presidents despite initial misgivings, as reason to believe history may offer a kinder assessment of the durability of Bush policies and institutional changes.

Rove rejected the suggestion that future presidents might be deterred from the Bush doctrine by the enduring violence and unintended consequences let loose by the invasion of Iraq. "Could be," he said. "But it has a logic of force and nature and reality that will cause people to examine it, adjust it, test it, resist it -- but ultimately embrace it."

Skip Rutherford, who was involved in creating the nearby Clinton Library and is dean of the Clinton School here, said he invited Rove to speak after the two talked from time to time about presidential libraries. Bush is in negotiations to build his own library, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, Rove lavishly praised Clinton. "The 42nd president cared passionately about the fate of people who elected him. He exercised the full powers of his office. He mastered complex problems and made sure the president remained at the vital center of action," he said, recalling words of John F. Kennedy. "These things matter. And they will be seen to matter by history."

As for the next putative President Clinton, Rove was more guarded. Pressed by Rutherford during a question-and-answer session for an assessment of the 2008 presidential hopefuls, Rove only allowed that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is a "formidable candidate."