Karl Rove

Karl Rove is often called "Bush's Brain" for his political genius in directing George W. Bush's successful campaigns for governor of Texas and president of the United States. Rove has been active in Republican party politics since the 1970s, when he knew Bush's father, George H. W. Bush. Rove ran the elder Bush's unsuccessful primary campaign for president against Ronald Reagan in 1980, and then worked in Texas for Republican politicians, among them Senator Phil Gramm. He started a consulting firm, Karl Rove & Company, in 1981 and began to pile up political successes. He helped guide George W. Bush to wins in the Texas gubernatorial elections in 1994 and 1998, then ran Bush's successful presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004. He has remained a close advisor to Bush in the White House, managing the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. He announced in August of 2007 that he would resign and return to private life, effective on 31 August 2007.