Rove Exit Inspires Pundit Ire

Not all Karl Rove haters celebrated his announced departure today. The Nation’s David Corn, while pleased that taxpayers will no longer be paying the Bush political strategist's salary after August, feels that Rove deserves the punishment of being forced to stay “to the bitter end” of the unpopular presidency he masterminded. He accuses Rove of “cutting and running” from a losing battles.

Meanwhile, conservative blogger Michelle Malkin saw in Rove’s exit interview with the Wall Street Journal “the mark of self-delusion and blindness that has damaged the White House.” She said the GOP would be better off now if her ideological bedfellow had left last year. She even takes pains to attack his spend-time-with-the-family excuse—pointing out his son is packing to leave for college. (More Karl Rove stories.)