WASHINGTON (AP) — Karl Rove, a political consultant and former Utahn who rose through the ranks of Republican politics with the late GOP adviser Lee Atwater, brings a deep knowledge of presidential history and a combative style to his new job as senior White House adviser.
Rove, 50, was senior political strategist for President-elect Bush in the past year's campaign and has known the younger Bush for more than a quarter century. Rove has been widely praised as instrumental in the Republican takeover of Texas politics.
"He has a very extensive grasp of American political history," said Ralph Reed, a Republican strategist based in Atlanta. "He knows the political history of just about every state in the country, understands the different factions of each party in those states.
"He is able to isolate and understand broad demographic changes and their ultimate impact on politics, and get in front of those demographic trends," Reed said, suggesting that Rove may do that even better than the most revered GOP consultants like Atwater.
Rove, who once said he's been a Republican since age 9, has been active in Republican politics since his college years when he was an aggressive — some would say too aggressive — campaign strategist.
He later became an assistant in the Republican National Committee to its chairman George Bush, father of the president-elect. Rove grew to be a fast friend of the chairman's eldest son, George W. They both also spent time with Atwater, the aggressive South Carolina strategist who was a rising star in the party.
Rove first met Atwater when both were College Republicans and Atwater helped him win the race to head the group. Then Rove called on Atwater to travel the country with him recruiting college students.
"Rove has a take-no-prisoners style and he's strategically very shrewd," said political scientist Bruce Buchanan of the University of Texas. "He and Atwater were kindred spirits in that regard."
According to Bill Minutaglio's biography of President-elect Bush, "First Son," the younger Bush and Rove became fast friends, talking for hours on the phone often focused on their mutual disdain for the 1960s lifestyle of many young people. Rove's home in Austin became a favored getaway for the younger Bush, who was comfortable around the brilliant political strategist who attended several colleges — but never graduated.
Rove explains that he had to start earning a living.
Two decades ago, Rove started his own political consulting company and his penchant for helping Republicans win statewide elections became well known.
"He transformed Texas politics," said Elizabeth Mitchell, author of "W.: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty." "Before Rove started working with GOP candidates, Texas was mainly a Democratic state."
Rove, considered conservative but not an ideologue, worked with the younger Bush when he ran for Congress in 1978 and was criticized by some in the very conservative region as too moderate.
Associates say Rove is known for controlling the message of a campaign, keeping candidates on the chosen topic.
When he first entered politics, he was accused of participating in political dirty tricks — such as releasing false invitations to political events, falsifying campaign documents on opponents stationery and using false names, according to Minutaglio's biography. The senior Bush told The Washington Post at the time he "would get to the bottom of the allegations" but several months later brought Rove into the RNC as a special assistant.
Rove has said the allegations were false and part of "a smear campaign" by an opponent competing with him to head the College Republicans. Rove's aides on the transition team referred questions about the subject to the transition press office, which had no immediate comment.
Once Rove was asked how he could lecture to college classes about politics when he had never graduated from college himself. Rove responded:
"I'm very good at what I do."