I'll be damned, there may be some cause for hope, as long as the GOP doesn't come up claiming to smell like roses because they dump Bush et alia and run on that in the next election. Look at what conservative Sen. Arlen Specter said:

Asked whether Rove's history as a political advisor to Ashcroft during his gubernatorial and Senate campaigns were grounds for him to step away from the case, Specter said "recusal is something Ashcroft ought to consider."