Bush woes pulling Rove down

The White House will reprise the two T's of its successful campaign strategy since 2002: terrorism and turnout.

They have determined that control of Congress is likely to be settled in as few as six states, and decided to focus a majority — but not all — of Republican Party resources there, said party officials who did not want to be identified discussing internal deliberations. Those states are likely to include Connecticut, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, though officials said the battle lines could shift in the coming weeks.

The White House is largely turning away from the 36 governors' races, although Rove and Bush will continue to help Republican candidates for governor raise money, party officials said. The decision has broad significance because building a foundation of Republican governors had been a main part of Rove's goal of creating a long-lasting Republican majority.

The Republican National Committee expects to spend more thanover $60 million, which would be a record, for the midterm elections. Officials say half of that would pay for get-out-the-vote operations in the targeted states.

In states where Bush's presence could be problematic, like Pennsylvania and Connecticut, the turnout operation gives Rove a way to provide below-the-radar help.

Mehlman, whom Rove assigned to master get-out-the-vote techniques years ago, has handed custom compact discs with lists of voters, along with information on their voting and consumer habits, to every state Republican chairman.

One administration official said that in the midst of all this, Rove was also looking beyond Bush's term, to the creation of his library. And he is quietly making his influence felt in the 2008 presidential campaign. Most significantly, the White House has signaled to Bush supporters that they are free to work for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, which could provide Rove a network of intelligence in 2008. Rove has made clear to associates that he is not supporting any candidate in that race.

Rove's associates said it was inevitable that his clout would diminish somewhat given the president's declining approval rating and the history of two-term presidents generally weakening by their sixth year in office.

"Anytime you're in the position of being the prime mover, and you've got five people saying we should do it this way and five others saying we should do it that way, you're going to aggravate five people inevitably when you come down with a decision," said Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman. "But Karl is willing to do that, and you're going to get your share of slings and arrows when you are."