Editorial: Rove owes an apology

Friday, June 24, 2005 | 4:10 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

June 25-26, 2005

Presidential adviser Karl Rove set off an unnecessary and distracting firestorm last week when he made a snide and untrue accusation against Democrats. At a time when the White House should be talking every day about its strategy to win the war in Iraq, its progress in the global war on terror and other pressing issues such as education, the economy and the growing international competition for oil, there really is no time for pointless, juvenile, talk-radioesque sniping at Democrats.

In a speech to members of the New York Conservative Party, Rove said, " ... liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

Here's what really happened: The Senate voted 98-0 on a resolution authorizing President Bush to use "all necessary and appropriate force" in going after, killing and detaining anyone associated with the attacks on New York and Washington. The House voted 420 to 1 in favor of the resolution. The one holdout, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., did so only because she wanted Congress to be a partner in the war on terrorism, instead of giving the president sole authority. She voted in favor of an immediate $40 billion budget to fight terrorism. In a Nov. 20, 2001, address to Congress and the American people, President Bush thanked congressional Democrats for their bipartisan support and for their "service to their country."

For the Bush White House, the words "liberal" and "Democrats" are interchangeable, so naturally Rove's blatantly false characterization drew heated response from congressional Democrats. The ensuing hearings, floor speeches and press conferences took valuable time away from the important issues of the day. When Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., recently made an unfortunate remark comparing interrogation methods at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay with methods used at Nazi death camps and Soviet gulags, he apologized. Rove should follow this example.