Rove has vast influence within Republican Party

NEW YORK — Sometimes it's hard to tell where Karl Rove ends and the Republican Party begins.

As the GOP plans to re-elect President Bush and pad its congressional majorities, as it did last month at a meeting of the Republican National Committee, Rove's fingerprints are on all its plans.

The Republicans hope to expand a get-out-the vote program they used in 2002; coordinate Bush's campaign with state and local races; and stage a successful convention just miles from the spot where a bullhorn-wielding Bush addressed Sept. 11 rescue workers at ground zero.

These and other ideas can be traced to Rove, a White House senior adviser whose team also has a hand in recruiting candidates, courting constituencies, developing campaign themes, and coordinating actions among Republicans across the country. And while the extent of Rove's role in policymaking is hotly debated, his goal — an expanded and enduring Republican majority — is not.

"It's the most integrated political operation I've ever seen between the Republican National Committee and the White House," said Tom Rath, a veteran party member from New Hampshire.

How much of that is due to Rove?

"It all starts with him," Rath said. And while Rove is best known as a political guru, his influence extends far beyond the planning of campaigns and political strategy. Republicans describe him as a policy wonk with influence on administration actions ranging from steel tariffs to creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

Bush's Democratic critics put something of a sinister cast on the scope of Rove's activities, saying the bare-knuckle Texas political consultant has become a modern Machiavelli.

"He's the quarterback calling the plays," said Robert Gibbs, spokesman for Sen. John Kerry, a Democratic presidential candidate. "I don't think there are many decisions in that White House not run by Karl Rove."

Rove, who plans to keep his role as senior White House adviser during the campaign, declined to comment for this article. But he has repeatedly downplayed the extent of his influence with Bush. Earlier this year, he told reporters: "I am one voice among many around the senior staff table in the morning."

White House officials and other Republicans scoff at some of the legends surrounding Rove. They describe him as a key member of a team that stresses consensus, and not the most important player.