From the morning funnies? No, this is serious.
In order to avoid Karl Rove's temper, President Bush attended church with Karl Rove in order to give him the bad news that his services would no longer be needed in the White House.
If you're going to fire someone, you want to make sure you do it in a place where the now-unemployed can't make a scene.You know...a place like, say, a church.
That, according to a new book - "Machiavelli's Shadow" - by former Time magazine reporter Paul Alexander, is where President George W. Bush informed trusted advisor Karl Rove in 2007 that his services would no longer be needed at the White House.
"On a Sunday in midsummer, George W. Bush accompanied Karl Rove to the Episcopalian Church Rove sometimes attended," writes Alexander. "They made their way to the front of the congregation. Then, during their time in the church, Bush gave Rove some stunning news. 'Karl,' Bush said, 'there's too much heat on you. It's time for you to go.'"
Maybe Bush knew what he was doing in breaking such bad news in such serene atmosphere: As Alexander documents, Rove has quite the temper.
"He's got a temper and a loud voice and he used it," said Bill Miller, a consultant who worked for and against Rove in Texas. "He's known for getting hot. There are buttons people know about. Losing and getting screwed with will [upset] him in a hurry."
This item quotes a few Republicans echoing sentiments that I've expressed as well, namely that Karl Rove and George Bush set back the Republican party for quite a while, possibly decades.
"Every Republican I know looks at the Bush administration as a total failure," said Matt Towery, chairman of Newt Gingrich's political organization."To do what he did politically to us is unforgivable," Rep. Tom Tancredo told Alexander. "It will take generations to recover. I don't know how long; maybe never."
"I think the legacy is that Karl Rove will be a name that'll be used for a long, long time as an example of how not to do it," said long-time GOP strategist Ed Rollins.
