Good timing

Rove is gone, although at the place and time of his choosing and not that of the frog-march brigade. I've little to add other than an observation about the coverage.

Here's the Opinion Journal:

Holding the White House for a third term is always difficult given the pent-up desire for change, he says, but "I think we've got a very good chance to do so."

Here's the WaPo:

And he said Republicans could still retain the White House next year. The Democrats are likely to nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), "a tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate," he said, but Republicans have "a very good chance" of beating her.

And here's the New York Times:

Mr. Rove had a parting shot for his political nemeses, telling Mr. Gigot that he believed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the Democratic nominee but called her a “tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate,” and predicted a Republican victory in the 2008 presidential race. It is the sort of political boasting that had become Mr. Rove’s hallmark.

And I guess distorting comments is a hallmark of the Times. Well done.

MORE 8/13/07

Reading this sparked a thought about why so many on the left might be stricken with RDS, (Rove Derangement Syndrome). Could it be...

That Rove is a poster boy nerd? This picture seems to provide solid evidence. Perhaps they just can't stand being beaten by such a person.

No big eureka moment, although coupled with Tamara's point it might explain a lot going on in the blogosphere at any given moment.

For what it's worth, as a long time skeptic anytime the "spend more time with the family" option is rolled out, my opinion is that Rove's newfound ability to glow in the dark will make this retirement semi-real, at least beyond the 2008 election. If he tries to work underground for anyone, say Thompson, and the media finds out (and you know they would), it's automatic turn out the lights time.