Sunday Snapshot

Karl Rove made the Sunday show rounds in order to say his goodbyes:

On why he's making the rounds: "Well, somebody else made the decision for me, and I'm just doing what I was instructed to do."

To Bob Schieffer: "How can one leave the White House without saying goodbye to you?"

On elections: "You cannot win elections with your people only. You've got to get your share of the independents. You've got to get your share of the other side's party. You've got to grab some of those people who might be inclined to have a D behind their name if you're a Republican candidate or an R behind their name if you're a Democrat candidate. And you've also got to get people energized into the system who've never participated."

Asked why Bush is so unpopular: "I don't think he has wound up being so unpopular. We'll see at the end of the day. We've got 17 months, and I've known him for 34 years. He's a competitive person. He didn't come here simply to hold the office. He's going to continue to pursue a bold agenda at home and abroad. And he's got 17 months to get a lot of things done. He's going to be using every lever available to the president, which is considerable, to get things done right up to the end."

On the GOP WH field: "The key is to have positive, forward-looking, optimistic agenda for the future of the country. .... We've got at least four big ones and maybe others. Senator McCain, Mayor Giuliani, Senator Thompson, Governor Romney -- these men will be able to articulate that message. And, look, it's going to be an exciting message to watch because the outcome is not foreordained. But I feel good about these men. I feel good about their message."

Asked if he knows who the GOP nominee will be: "If I did, I wouldn't tell you. And, frankly, I have been focused too much on my duties at the White House to give that much contemplation" ("Face the Nation," CBS, 8/19).

Rove: "Is the Republican Party a little bit behind the curve? You bet. ... Because we're in an unpopular war and because we got defeated in the last elections. ... You know what the number one issue was in the last election for people who voted Democrat in '06 and voted Republican in ‘'04? It was corruption. They looked at what we did in Congress, they looked at all the scandals."

On WH '08: "All of our major candidates get it, that the election has got to be about the future. Democrats want to make it about the past. The Republicans want to make it about the future."

More: "It's going to be a tough, contentious election year. It's going to be tough for a Democrat or a Republican to win. One of them will win, but only after a very tough, long time."

On Valerie Plame: "There is a civil lawsuit filed by Mr. Wilson and Ms. Plame. It has been tossed out at the district court level. They've announced their intention to appeal. I think it is better that I not add anything beyond what is already in the public record until that suit is resolved."

More: "My recollection is, 'I've heard that, too.' But the point is, if a journalist had said to me, 'I'd like you to confirm this,' my answer would have been, 'I can't. I don't know. I've heard that, too.'"

Asked if he owes Plame an apology: "No."

Asked how HRC is "fatally flawed": "She enters the general election campaign with the highest negatives of any candidate in the history of the Gallup Poll."

Asked how that hurts her: "Well, it just says people have made an opinion about her. It's hard to change opinions once you've been a high profile person in the public eye, as she has, for 16 or 17 years."

Asked if she's the Dem nominee GOPers want: "I'm just responding from questions to journalists. Don't ask me, don't blame it on me. It's you guys' fault."

On HRC's ad: "First of all, it's laughable that this president does not have a strong relationship with the military and military families. Most of the ad was devoted to health care, which really to me was a sign of defensiveness. She understands she's got a weakness on this."

Asked if Obama has measured up to the hype: "You know what? ... You've got an excellent panel coming on, I think, later in the program. Why don't you ask them this question."

NBC's Gregory: "You haven't shied away from talking about Hillary Clinton."

Rove: "I've said enough. I've got to save a little bit more for later."

Gregory: "Do you really fear Barack Obama? That's why you're spending all this time attacking Hillary Clinton?"

Rove: "I read that in the LA Times this morning. Those guys really out in LA have got to get clued in. I mean, come on" ("Meet the Press," NBC, 8/19).

On the '06 election: "The 2006 election was a normal off-year election. If you look at the sweep of American history, the White House party in its second term, off-year election, has lost an average of 28 seats in the House and five seats in the Senate. We lost 30 in the House and six in the Senate, and it was a very close election. The House of Representatives was decided by 85,000 votes out of 82 million cast."

FNC's Wallace: "You sound like John Kerry complaining about Ohio."

Rove: "Well, no, no, we lost. I mean, there's no doubt about it."

On why he won't testify before Congress about the firing of the U.S. attys: "Because of the Constitution of the United States. We have a constitutional separation of powers."

Wallace: "The Constitution does not prevent you from speaking to me so, in fact, I'll ask you some questions. Why did you push to fire some U.S. attorneys in the president's second term?"

Rove: "Nice try. The president has prerogatives that stand up not only to Congress, but also to you."

Wallace: "I mean, executive privilege involves the separation of powers with Congress. It doesn't involve what you talk to me about."

Rove: "It involves the right of a president to receive candid advice from his aides without being subjected to -- called by the Congress to come up and testify. I know you don't understand you're being an agent of Congress when you ask me that question, but you are. I'm going to stand and protect the Constitution and the right of a president, which is absolutely vital, to receive unvarnished, direct and candid advice from his aides."

Wallace: "I like to think I'm an agent of the public, not the Congress."

Rove: "Well, in this instance, you're an agent of Senator Leahy and Congressman Waxman."

Asked if the GOP would ever nominate someone who is pro-choice: "Our party is a pro-life party. I do think people are accepting of candidates who, you know, may have a slightly different label or may have a slightly different attitude, as long as people respect and understand the essential core of that, which is what do we need to do in order to make abortion less prevalent in America. And appointing conservative judges, encouraging adoptions, standing for the restrictions that we have in current law so there's no federal funding -- I find a lot of people who are pro-life are willing to take a candidate who will carry that standard."

More: "That's one of the issues that will be decided in the primary. And the question is, you know, people who enter politics, when they first enter politics, tend to sort of want everything very quickly. And as time goes on, they mature and they get a more mature understanding of politics and say, 'You know what? I want somebody who is with me, you know, 80 percent or 90 percent of the time and may take longer to get where I want to go.' And that's a natural thing in politics."

On the '08 campaign: "I don't anticipate taking any kind of formal role. ... I mean, I'm in my eleventh year of this. So, no. My wife would kill me."

More: "I mean, I've got friends in all four of the major camps. I'm an opinionated kind of guy. And I hope to think I'm sort of discreet. And so if people call me, I'm happy to give them what I think."

On what Bush said to him after the MC Rove dance: "He said, 'You're fired'" ("Fox News Sunday," 8/19).

ALL IMMIGRATION'S FAULT

John McCain was on "Face the Nation":

Asked if he thinks it's his support for the war that has cost him his position in the '08 campaign: "No. I think first of all, we're in good shape and I'm happy where we are. ... We're going to be just fine in my campaign. And every campaign has its ups and downs. I think, frankly, the immigration issue has caused me some difficulties with our base, because I think we failed to convince the American people that we're serious about securing our borders. They don't have confidence in us anymore, because of our failure of handling Katrina, corruption and spending, and failure in the war. ... I made mistakes in the past, but on Iraq, immigration, other issues, I have to do what I think is best for this nation, and I'm proud to do so."

Asked if he agrees with Rove that HRC will be the Dem nominee: "No, I think she has been very effective in the Senate. I don't know the Democratic politics, but I see her in a frontrunner status right now. I have worked with her on many issues. But again, she is a liberal Democrat; I'm a conservative Republican. I look forward to that debate. This debate should be about issues. I have seen her shift on her position on Iraq, from basically supporting to now seeking withdrawal dates, I don't know when. And so, I will be glad to have that debate with her, but I think we should have a respectful campaign with lots of debates."

Asked who his main '08 competition is: "I don't know. I see it kind of evolving, and some people are up and some are down, and that's our favorite game here in Washington. I'm sticking on my message."

Asked what Gen. Petraeus' report will say: "I believe that he's going to depict what I think are the facts on the ground and I am in close enough contact with people to think it's pretty accurate. Militarily, we are succeeding. Politically, we have some difficulties, although there's progress on the local levels on the basic lefts on the ground in Iraq. We are going to be able to move our troops from some areas to others. And eventually -- and I say eventually -- we will be able to withdraw not only to bases, but withdraw completely. But it's going to take a while" (CBS, 8/19).

ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP

The "Meet the Press" roundtable discussed Rove and WH '08:

Los Angeles Times' Brownstein: "They've become more of a regional party under Karl Rove. They're strong in the culturally conservative parts of the country, but in the Northeast and the West Coast, they've lost a lot of ground."

The "Fox News Sunday" roundtable discussed the financial markets and Rove:

Weekly Standard's Kristol: "Well, it depends if we win the war in Iraq and if a Republican gets elected in 2008. I think both are pretty likely, actually. And in that case, Rove's legacy will be pretty impressive."

FNC's Barnes: "To think that he could guarantee a Republican realignment, or that he could be someone who had some secret strategy that could get immigration reform passed and Social Security reform passed, just ignores how much or how little a political strategist can really affect things."

The "Late Edition" roundtable discussed WH '08 and Rove:

CNN's Preston: "There were really no winners today in today's debate. But Barack Obama was clearly trying to send a message, look, don't criticize me for things that I've said in the past. Your experience has gotten us into the Iraq war. My judgment would have not put us there."