Rove assumes more public role

"He has risen to the highest ranks of the White House, carries the title of deputy chief of staff and presides over a broad portfolio of domestic and foreign issues. But even as he has morphed from political operative to policy adviser, Karl Rove retains the instincts of the direct-mail specialist he once was in Texas.

"The verbal strike he aimed at liberals and liberalism during a speech to the New York Conservative Party on Wednesday night came straight out of the direct-mail manual: pithy, provocative and designed to energize one side by torching the other.

"Rove's flamboyant remarks—in which he roused conservatives by saying liberals prefer 'therapy and understanding' for terrorists instead of retaliation—has put President Bush's top strategist back on stage. It's a place where he has seemed increasingly comfortable of late." ...