Mr. Rove, They're Ready for You in Makeup

Andrea Chalupa reports from St. Paul: George W. Bush may not physically be at the Republican convention, but his alter ego is.

Finally free of the obligations and responsibilities of advising the president of the United States, Karl Rove is sweeping through the Twin Cities offering quips and "go get 'ems" to the Republican faithful (presumably for free) and to selected media (definitely for big bucks).

"You should never sell short on Karl Rove," Frank Lutz, a rock star among Republican polling groupies, told us. "He's a Fortune 500 company. Karl has so much experience, his brand name has long-term potential. I think he'll want to remain a niche brand. We'll continue hearing from him [as a commentator] in the next convention."

This week, Rove's been hitting the delegate circuit. To the Wisconsin delegation, Rove said that despite the fact the state was counted narrowly for Al Gore in 2000, he was convinced Bush actually won. And he made a crack about having to wear makeup for TV appearances. "Men, don't worry. I'm not going to be grabbing a man-purse."

To the Ohio delegation, he said the state would be as crucial as it was the last two elections. "Guess what? You're it again,'' he told the cheering delegates.

And for the folks from Texas, he praised the family values of John and Cindy McCain, namely their adoption of a girl from Bangladesh in 1991. What Rove didn't say was that eight years ago, he is said to have used Bridget McCain as an issue against her father. In 2000, when McCain ran against Bush in the G.O.P. primary, Rove allegedly had the Bush campaign conduct a phone poll asking voters if they would be influenced if they found out McCain fathered an "illegitimate black baby."

The Bush campaign has always denied it authorized that poll, and Rove didn't use his time before the Texas delegation to make any apologies for past campaigns.

Besides making the rounds of loyal Republicans, the other audience Rove is talking to is the media. Or more appropriately, the media who gives him a paycheck. Since Rove left the White House a year ago, he's been working on a reported $1.5 million book deal with Simon & Schuster and hitting the lecture circuit (a talk to 1,000 at the University of Iowa got him $40,000).

And he's giving his electoral wisdom to Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. Details of his contracts with the outlets aren't known, but even with them, Rove doesn't show all of his cards.

Before McCain picked Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, reports had Rove calling Senator Joseph Lieberman to get him to take his name out of consideration. Rove supposedly was in favor of Mitt Romney getting the job.

"Look, I'm not going to get into who I call and don't call," Rove said in an appearance on Fox. "But this report that I called Senator Lieberman and told him, 'You call Senator McCain and withdraw from the vice presidential [race],' is incorrect."

While Rove hits the delegate and "selected media" circuit, there's one group he doesn't have much time for--the rest of the press corps. After the Texas event, Portfolio.com tried to get a quick comment from him about taxes and the federal deficit. Rove said only that he was saving himself for Fox.

Andrea Chalupa

Photo caption: Karl Rove at the Republican National Convention. Photo by Melissa Golden / Rapport.

Get more from the Republican convention in St. Paul with these:
-- The G.O.P.s Gov Child.
-- The Republicans Get a Mulligan With Gustav.
-- McCain's Pick of Palin a Game Changer.
-- Drill, Baby, Drill!
-- Where to Eat in the Twin Cities.
-- How to Party Like a Rockstar TV Star With Republicans.

Get a recap of what happened with the Democrats in Denver:
-- Obama Gets Down to Business.
-- Are Obama's Donors Tapped Out?
-- Google's Schmidt: "They Have Guns and We Don't"
-- Why Does Everyone Want In on the Act?
-- I'm T. Boone Pickens and This Will Save America.
-- The Election According to Mr. Burns.
-- The Portfolio.com Capital Index.