Karl Rove

It seems like it is almost mandatory if one is going to bother having a blog to say something about the Karl Rove controversy. The democrats and liberal media have picked this as the single issue through which they are going to focus their hate of George W. Bush (at least until a Supreme Court justice is nominated).

Part of the reason for the intense focus on Rove is the fact that the democrats blame him for John Kerry's loss in last year's election and would love to get even. Of course, the real reason for Kerry's loss was his own poor performance in the campaign combined with the underlying attempt to characterize himself as a war hero from 30 years ago while entirely ignoring the fact that he spent 20 years in the U.S. Senate doing next to nothing. Perhaps ignoring the 20 year Senate record might have worked but the Swift Vets did a very effective job of showing Kerry's service record was not what he was attempting to present it to be.

But, the democrats are so anxious to score some sort of success that they are not even willing to wait for the results of the special prosecutor's review of the whole matter. This suggests that they suspect there will be not much heat generated by the prosecutor so now, while things are otherwise quiet, they can work with their friends in the media to get even with Rove.

As more information dribbles out, it seems clear that Rove did not violate any law so the democrats are trying to move the bar in their attempt to force the President to get rid of him. This is unlikely to be successful as the public is not going to be interested in this whole trivial matter.

Jeb gets a spanking and STILL doesn't please his overseers

After receiving a report a week or so ago from the prosecutor he had asked to once again look into the Terri Schiavo matter, Jeb Bush has apparently given up his fruitless efforts to please the Schindler family.

"In what could be a final chapter in the legal saga of Terri Schiavo, Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe says he could find no evidence that Michael Schiavo caused his wife's collapse 15 years ago.
In a June 30 letter to Gov. Jeb Bush, McCabe suggested ending the state's inquiry into the case.
Bush responded Thursday in a two-sentence letter to McCabe: 'Based on your conclusions, I will follow your recommendation that the inquiry by the state be closed.'"

Quite polite, all things considered. But the details of the memorandum written by staff members to McCabe clearly reflect a disgust with Bush's outrageous bias in this case and his lack of interest in the facts.

"Based on what he refers to as 'new information' contained in the Terri Schiavo autopsy report, Governor Bush has requested that our office take a 'fresh look at the case' with no "preconceptions as to the outcome.

Although the Governor suggests that the cause of Terri's 'injuries' is more in doubt than ever, Dr. Thogmartin's extensive report makes clear that there is no evidence that she suffered any physical trauma.

(The) discrepancy between (Michael Schiavo's) recollection of the time of the incident and the time that paramedics and police recorded receiving the call hardly constitutes new information."

McCabe's conclusion that there must be at least some minimal amount of evidence that a crime was committed before an investigation can be launched might be common sense to most people but it is apparently something that is above and beyond the capability of Jeb Bush and his staff to understand. What an embarrassment when the Governor of a major state shows such a basic lack of knowledge.

But Bush's attempt to please the Schindlers by continuing to stir the pot on the case seems unlikely to last for long.

"The report, though, will not end the controversy over Schiavo's collapse and the court order to remove her feeding tube, causing her death in March.

David Gibbs III, an attorney for Schiavo's parents, questioned how prosecutors were able to take a new look at the case after only 10 days of work.

'It seems surprisingly quick to us,' Gibbs said.

Prosecutors did not speak to Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, during that time. Gibbs said he didn't think that was what Bush expected when he asked for a "fresh look" into the case.

'We were probably expecting a more elaborate investigation into some of these questions,' Gibbs said."

Poor Jeb Bush; again anxious to please the Schindlers even to the extent of neglecting his real responsbilities and acting like to total idiot, again comes up short.

At this point, it is not clear what would have pleased Gibbs and the Schindlers. Bush had already ordered his Department Against Children and Families (DCF) to "investigate" the many Schindler complaints and they came up empty handed. Surely an "in-house" agency like DCF, knowing what the boss wants as the outcome, would be inclined to slant the facts as much as possible and, in this case, they were still unable to come up with any justification for more "investigation". Perhaps Bush felt that McCabe would have the same fealty to the Schindler interests as he evidently has and would perhaps be even more creative with the facts than his own in-house Gestapo group had been.

With Bobby Schindler evidently launching a new career as a spokesmodel for folks in vegetative states, any publicity he or his family can generate will translate into income.

So what additional mischief can the Schindler's generate and will Jeb Bush continue to serve their interests instead of working for the taxpayers of Florida? I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.