So I think I have found the obvious common thread in all of these recent political scandals. It is really not that big of a revelation, and is only relevant in relation to my floundering around in yesterday's post, trying to find my center of gravity while dealing with the dizzying pace of Bush Scandaldom '07. So what is it? What is the glue binding everything together? Turns out it is Karl Rove's chubby little fingers. As you probably know, Karl (turd blossom as he is affectionately referred to by Bush) is the Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush. He has also been referred to as "Bush's Brain". While we usually haven't heard an awful lot from a person in his position in past administrations (similarly to the VP of past admins), Karl is changing all of that by expanding and bastardizing the roles and powers of the President's top advisor.

Where can we find the taint left behind by these chubby little fingers? Let's look at the Valerie Plame incident. Karl was initially targeted as one of the first leakers of her name and status as an undercover CIA op to Time reporter Matthew Cooper. He was brought in on 5 separate instances to testify in order to clear up some 'inconsistencies' (read: lies) in his testimony. He was eventually cleared of any charges as his good buddy Scooter Libby decided to fall on the sword for the administration. More than one juror at the end of the case expressed his or her frustration in having to convict Libby and not Rove.

Let's see, where else? He is definitely in the middle of the Attorneygate scandal as the guy picking and choosing those attorneys loyal enough to Bush to stay and those who had to go. This investigation is currently still going on and it is uncertain right now whether or not the panel looking into it is going to be able to get Karl under oath or not. My guess is he will yet again find a way to weasel out of any trouble.

NEWSFLASH: Here is a new scandal that is brewing where, yet again, chubby Rove fingerprints are all over it. Apparently Karl thought it OK to violate the Hatch Act and use the General Services Administration (GSA) as a means to target 20 potentially vulnerable Democratic congressional candidates in the upcoming '08 election. The investigation into this one is really early on, so more details to come.

These are just a few examples of the current scandals all leading back to "Bush's Brain". I am starting to wonder if maybe Karl isn't a clever Democratic plant who is trying to take down the Republicans from the inside? No way could he be this dumb to think none of these scandals would come out. No way does he want to do this much damage, not only to his boss and long time friend Bush, but to the Republican party as a whole. Then again, he has been doing dirty tricks like these from the beginning of his political days. Examples? He bugged his own office during a governor's race in Texas and blamed it on the Democratic opponent. He took push polling to a whole new level by asking Texas voters if they would "be more or less likely to vote for Governor Richards if you knew her staff is dominated by lesbians?" or South Carolina primary voters if they would "be more or less likely to vote for Sen. John McCain if they knew he had a black child out-of-wedlock."

The unfortunate truth in all of this is that all of his sleazy tactics have worked out pretty much according to plan. He has also, unfortunately, been immune to any sort of criminal charges so far for his criminal activities. I can only hope that his day of reckoning is quickly approaching. I, for one, am tired of his chubby little fingers being all over my government.

Thanks for reading...