I don't trust these guys as far as I can throw them, so I'm sure this isn't good news even though it might SEEM like good news. Rove is probably going to nurture the next Republican they would like to usher into the office.

I wonder if he'll be more difficult to prosecute from where he's headed now?

Link

Karl Rove, President Bush's close friend and chief political strategist, plans to leave the administration at the end of August, the White House said Monday.

A longtime member of Mr. Bush's inner circle, Rove was nicknamed "the architect" by the president for designing the strategy that twice won him the White House.

A criminal investigation put Rove under scrutiny for months during the investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name but he was never charged with any crime. In a more recent controversy, Rove, citing executive privilege, has refused to testify before Congress about the firing of U.S. attorneys.

Mr. Bush was expected to make a statement Monday with Rove. Later Monday, Rove, his wife and their son were to accompany Mr. Bush on Air Force One when the president flies to Texas for his vacation.

"Obviously it's a big loss to us," White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said. "He's a great colleague, a good friend, and a brilliant mind. He will be greatly missed, but we know he wouldn't be going if he wasn't sure this was the right time to be giving more to his family, his wife Darby and their son. He will continue to be one of the president's greatest friends."

It's very unusual for top presidential aides to stay for all eight years. The jobs are burnout jobs, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller. The president goes through top aides over the course of his eight years in office, so Rove's decision to step down while a surprise is by no means unprecedented.

Since Democrats won control of Congress in November, a number of other top administration officials have announced their resignations. Among those who have left are White House counselor Dan Bartlett, budget director Rob Portman, chief White House attorney Harriet Miers, political director Sara Taylor, deputy national security adviser J.D. Crouch and Meghan O'Sullivan, another deputy national security adviser who worked on Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was forced out immediately after the election as the unpopular war in Iraq dragged on.

Rove became one of Washington's most influential figures during Mr. Bush's presidency. He is known as a ruthless political warrior who has an encyclopedic command of political minutiae and a wonkish love of policy. Rove met Mr. Bush in the early 1970s, when both men were in their 20s. Once inside the White House, Rove grew into a right-hand man.

Rove is expected to write a book after he leaves. He disclosed his departure in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

He said he decided to leave after White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told senior aides that if they stayed past Labor Day they would be obliged to remain through the end of the president's term in January 2009.

"I just think it's time," Rove said in an interview at this home on Saturday. He first floated the idea of leaving to Mr. Bush a year ago, the newspaper said, and friends confirmed he'd been talking about it even earlier. However, he said he didn't want to depart right after the Democrats regained control of Congress and then got drawn into policy battles over the Iraq war and immigration.

(Follow the link for the rest of the story)

SRS