'This Just Complicated My World View. I May Like Karl Rove'

The baffled left has no clue what to make of the emergence of Karl Rove as a superior analyst for Fox News as well as a columnist for Newsweek.

The New York Times has a look at Rove as well as a number of former political consultants who now ply their trade on television and in print.

What's most illuminating is the preconceived view of the cartoon caricature of Rove and how he really is.

Mr. Meacham said Mr. Rove had been received surprisingly well in the magazine’s newsroom, where he has been a reliable colleague who files his articles on time and works diligently with fact checkers.

“After one editor dealt with him,” Mr. Meacham said, “the editor called me and said, ‘This just complicated my world view. I may like Karl Rove.’”

I wonder how he feels about Kos?

Some commentators have conveyed similar surprise.

As an on-camera presence, Mr. Rove is not necessarily a natural. Neither his doughy chin nor his ashen complexion would be confused with those of, say, Brian Williams of NBC News.

Fox News Channel would not say how much it was paying Mr. Rove, but his friends say his pundit work is most valuable for the way it increases his exposure and potentially his speaking fees.

Colleagues say he is most in his element as he ticks through delegate tallies, the demographics of Congressional districts and raw vote counts. “It’s like watching him at a staff meeting,” said Russ Schriefer, who worked with Mr. Rove in the 2000 and 2004 Bush presidential campaigns.

Via The Corner.