[Preechr]

Doubt it. If Republicans really cared one bit about what our tiny little group of people who pay at least a little attention to politics think about Karl Rove manning a position in the administration, he would have been kicked out long ago. The vast majority of Americans have no idea at all who the guy is, or even what a Chief of Staff is for that matter. I don't think they are trying to get him out of the picture at all... in fact, it looks more to me like they might be placing him more in public eye than he ever has been. He wasn't quail hunting Sunday... he was on Meet the Press, handing David Gregory his ass.

The guy's very smart, he's an effective speaker, and he knows more about what's really going on in the administration than most anybody else. He has a gift for packaging that knowledge into what sells in the sticks, and the White House doesn't need him right now, at least not as much as they need him functioning in a non-official capacity. The more he's on TV, the higher Bush's numbers will rise, which only helps the Republican Party. Newt's banging the change drum, necessary to win any election, and now Rove's humming "It ain't as bad as they say it is." The primaries will decide on the tune to the song.