POLITICS Rove has unparalleled influence with Bush

A criminal probe put the president's close friend under scrutiny for months.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Karl Rove was not "frog-marched" out of the White House in handcuffs as his detractors had hoped, but the past year was certainly a low point for President Bush's close friend and chief political strategist.
A criminal investigation put Rove under scrutiny for months, then he was forced to surrender a key policy role in a move that raised questions about his authority in the White House.
While Rove fought the allegations and kept a low public profile, he never lost his unparalleled influence on the president, say those close to him.
"The history of a lot of folks in these jobs is that they are hired guns," Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said. "With Karl, you have someone who has been central to what the president has been doing for decades."
Remains involved
Mehlman and others in the White House say Rove gave up his responsibilities as chief policy coordinator in April, but remains heavily involved in all aspects of domestic and international policy. The coordinator role had turned Rove into an internal White House diplomat, trying to coordinate different views into a coherent position while maintaining neutrality. Some felt it stretched the political strategist too thin.
The slimmed-down portfolio leaves Rove freer to focus on politics, look at the big picture and provide a gut-check in a White House that has struggled with missteps that may leave Republicans vulnerable in the midterm congressional elections.
Rove fell under a legal cloud after a grand jury, starting late in 2003, began investigating the leak of a CIA officer's identity to reporters. He learned in June that he would not be indicted.
With that threat behind him, Rove is back to his old playful self -- sporting Elvis sideburns on a recent trip to Memphis with the president and traveling around the country for lucrative storytelling to GOP donors.
Smear tactics
The Republican base never flinched at suggestions that Rove tried to smear administration critic Joe Wilson by revealing his wife's role as a CIA operative.
Publicity surrounding the case seems even to have increased Rove's stature among Republicans and contributed to an almost mystical view of the longtime Bush strategist among the party faithful because he came out on top.
At a recent presidential fundraiser near Bush's Texas ranch, a line that formed for photos with Rove was nearly as long as the line waiting to see the president.
Rove is an impressive fundraiser himself, bringing in $10.4 million in 75 events this cycle, more than any other Republican official besides the president, first lady and vice president.
"He came out clean," said Robert Pruger, one of the donors who recently paid $1,000 to hear Rove speak in Toledo. "When your opponent hits you and it doesn't stick, you end up stronger for it."
The fundraiser aided the campaign of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell. Financial consultant Cleves Delp was told that if he helped stage the fundraiser, he could get any leading conservative he liked to attend.