Product Description

President George W. Bush dubbed Karl Rove “The Architect” for his skill in creating an unprecedented campaign and fund-raising machine. But Rove’s ambitions have always been far more sweeping—to build a right-wing dynasty that can dominate American politics for decades. Rove’s master plan imagines a political system so controlled by Republicans that it is resisted only by symbolic opposition.

In The Architect, James Moore and Wayne Slater, the bestselling authors of Bush’s Brain, return with an even more penetrating examination of Rove, his sweeping agenda, and the price he may have to pay for his audacity. Drawing on their decades-long study of Rove, they provide a rarely seen view of the politics of absolute power in Washington—how it is acquired, expanded, and turned to startling ends. Specifically, they unveil how Rove:

• Used lobbyist Jack Abramoff as a cat’s-paw to manage unruly legislators

• Energetically led the antigay marriage movement while protecting a family secret that made his stance bizarrely cynical

• Turned Christian churches into a gigantic vote delivery system, despite privately admitting to being a nonbeliever

• Repeatedly leaked information to harm political opponents, making him the man investigators most wanted to talk to when they began probing the Plame affair

• Was intimately involved in an international disinformation scheme to lead America to war

The Architect is an eye-opening and frequently shocking report on the maneuverings of a brilliant but morally ambiguous political strategist, and the first-ever in-depth look at a political operative striving to absolutely control the future—even if he risks losing everything.



Also available as an eBook

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #229480 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-05
• Released on: 2006-09-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This bold follow-up to journalists Moore and Slater's bestseller, Bush's Brain, takes a provocative look at how Karl Rove used George Bush's various campaigns and presidency to engineer nothing less than the assertion of a long-term Republican hegemony and the complete dismantling of the Democratic Party. To make their case, they draw on a wide range of materials, including interviews and reportage done by other journalists to demonstrate how Rove mobilized his party's base, forging an unlikely alliance between religious and economic conservatives, while mounting targeted assaults on gays and lesbians, trial lawyers and labor unions. Yet in this narrative, his bid for a complete realignment of American politics begins to derail with the failure of Bush's Social Security reform plan, the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, the failed nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court and, most significantly, the implication of Rove in the leak of CIA employee Valerie Plame's identity. In this damning but scattered account, Rove remains an elusive, almost inhuman figure, despite short digressions about his relationship with his gay stepfather and his weekly brunches with members of the White House and RNC teams during the reelection campaign. The result is a compulsive page-turner that's bound to be divisive. (Sept. 12)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Moore and Slater, authors of the best-selling Bush's Brain(2003), take a scalpel to dissect that brain in this probing look at the personality and political strategizing of Karl Rove. They offer a portrait of a bright, cynical, and manipulative man bent on maintaining Republican political dominance for generations to come. Himself an agnostic, Rove has masterminded a strategy that has helped to broaden the Republican base beyond its pro-business, anti-government heritage to appeal to devout evangelicals. In a calculated effort to weaken the Democratic base, Rove has engineered plans to use the antiabortion stance to attract Catholics, the anti-gay stance to attract black churchgoers, and the pro-Israel stance to attract Jews. Moore and Slater trace Rove's fingerprints on the Bush campaign for Texas governor, where he honed his skills at surreptitious campaigns to smear opponents, often with hints at their sexual orientation. The authors reveal that while gay bashing has figured prominently in Republican campaigns, many of their insiders are gay. Moore and Slater also detail Rove's connections to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff as well as Rove's involvement in the orchestration of the war in Iraq. The authors maintain that these tactics are all part of a scheme to maintain Republican dominance of all aspects of American government for the next 30 years. Riveting investigative journalism. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Acclaim for The Architect

"Moore and Slater, relentless investigative reporters and great story tellers, have written the political exposé of the era. Only the architect himself has as thorough a grasp as these two of Rove's audacious blueprint for Republican Party dominance of American politics. Whether you want to learn from Rove or figure out how to stop him, this is the essential primer." —Bruce Buchanan, author of The Presidential Experience and The Policy Partnership


“A brisk, fearless, and often startling investigation into the life and works of Karl Rove. James Moore and Wayne Slater set new details about Rove’s personality and behavior within the political context of our times—and provide an unmistakable warning about Rove’s self-appointed mission.” —Joe Conason, author of Big Lies

“The Architect shines a light on the White House’s master of dog whistle politics and his ‘win at any cost’ tactics. In this riveting and startling exposé, Moore and Slater present a case study in hubris, overreach, and what happens when the tools and strengths of our democracy are used to undermine it. The authors show, with a keen sense of irony, how little Karl Rove even cares about the causes of those who march to his Pied Piper’s tune every four years. If you’ve ever felt that your country is in peril, read this book—it will confirm your worst fears.” —Arianna Huffington, author of Pigs at the Trough

“Imagine a cunning plot by a ruthless mastermind to seize control of the government of the United States. Now imagine that he succeeds. Then conjure up two sleuths dedicated to tracking him down who ultimately discover his ‘Rosebud,’ the shocking secret of his past that explains his ferocity. Karl Rove is the mastermind. James Moore and Wayne Slater are the fearless investigators. And The Architect is their startling report—the thriller of the decade.” —Sidney Blumenthal, author of The Clinton Wars

“A gripping story of the hijacking of the Republican party by Karl Rove, his allies from the radical right, and his corrupt cronies from K Street. A must read for any student of the history of our times.” —Ambassador Joseph Wilson, author of The Politics of Truth

Customer Reviews

Excellent research.
I find myself enjoying non-fiction more and more as I grow older, but books like this make me stop and think, maybe I should stick to biographies, standard historical texts and of course fiction. That of course is what I wish this book was, fiction. I never knew much about Karl Rove, and never really thought about the man behind the man type of political animal. I'm aware they are more into the "game" than anything else, and that winning is all there is - just like ambitious coaches. Isn't that what Rove is, essentially, a coach. If so his personality and the way he goes about the business of creating an image, decimating opponents - with bald faced lies more often than not- is disturbing.

This is a very well written book, easy to follow and organized so that following the progression and development of the story Moore is telling is comfortable. Obviously there was a lot of research done and it is well used, not over used. I checked a few of the texts referred to and could find nothing objectionable as "out of context", and the opinions of the author is controlled and not intrusive. As a reading experience it was pleasant enough even if the material was oh so disturbing.

In the last four years I have probably read more political books than the previous thirty. Maybe because they are everywhere and being talked about constantly. Certainly they are no more interesting than say, "The Making of a President" from the 1960s. Most of the best sellers in this category are extremely divisive and in many cases, just by their titles, mean spirited (case in point the savage diatribes of Ann Coulter such as "How to talk to a Liberal, If You must".)and of little real value.

That said, "The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power" is very, very disturbing. Here is a man who has decided that ulra-conservative thought must rule for the next century, and who does he pick as his standard bearer but George W. Bush, a man with little experience, proven ineptitude and incompetence inbusiness, a draft dodger who doesn't even take his commitment to the air nathional guard seriously and a former drunk. Few people now will deny that as President - an office he didn't even win by popular vote - George W. Bush has remained true to his character and blundered his way through his first term in such a horrible way that no one with an ounce of sense would have voted for him for a second term - which he likely did not win legitimately either - but with a man like Karl Rove there to lie about his opponents, distort the truth about them and deny the absolute irrefutable truth about his candidate's own back ground and lack of moral character he remains the president for four more disaterous years. Karl Rove is a mastermind when it comes to duplicity. He saw to it that true American heroes who served during the Vietnam conflict were degraded (John Kerry, John Murtha, John Mccain, etal) and then promotes Bush as a man who has high regard for the military. What monumantal hypocrisy. The sadest part is that with all the facts before the American electorate Bush still remains president. Perhaps the contempt Rove expresses for the average American voter is the hook he has so effectively used, proving not once, but twice that an inept, incompetent, lazy, anti-intellectual, pretend evangelical christan can be a winner if the man behind him has no ethical standards, or moral compass and is willing to lie, cheat and steal to achieve his nefarious results.

Sadly, he is very, very good at it as this book shows. Sadly the voters buy it, and even more sadly we all loose in the end and worst of all the America of ideological moral standards and a reputation for care and concern for the down trodden is lost, and perhaps never to be regained.

Karl Rove has created the absolute worst world leader in the history of our great democracy and he is actually proud of himself. At the risk of repeating myself, how sad for us all.

2006 Midterms upend Rove & Co.
Even before the results of the recent midterm elections were in, "The Architect", a superbly written narrative about the life and actions of Karl Rove, would have been a big hit. Since last week, however, James Moore's and Wayne Slater's book must be viewed in a more substantive and profound light. After all, Rove was one of the big losers on November 7 and we can now read this book through a prism of recent events.

"The Architect" hits the ground running. After terrific chapters about the connection with Rove and the Christian right, the book lands on what Rove does best. By promoting the wedge issue known as "gay marriage", Rove succeeded in disarming then actually arming Evangelical Christians to rise up against this issue. Rove rightly looks at this group as "absolutists" and ramping up support for anti-gay marriage amendments with the help of the religious right is made all the more curious when one finds out that he was raised in a non-religious home and had a gay stepfather to boot. It must take great disassociation yet immense focus to achieve what Rove did on just this issue alone. It is also a wonder as to what could have been achieved had Rove recast his forces for the common good and not for divisive ends.

While "The Architect" is a very good book, it stumbles occasionally. Chapters regarding labor unions and trial lawyers have less of a direct Rove fingerprint. However, when Moore and Slater return to the sheer political power wielded by Rove, the book regains its clarity and interest. This is where the authors are at their collective best.

If one has read "The Architect" before last week it would be good to give it another read. For now we see that the whiz kid-cum-guru can't win them all and this lack of recent political success signals the beginning of the tide away from Rove and Co. I highly recommend this book for its revelations and the authors' ability to see their subject from so many different angles.

Fearsome Look into Karl Rove's Machiavellian Machinations Presented with Fierce Determination
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove's Machiavellian methods behind George W. Bush's gubernatorial and presidential election victories have garnered a begrudging admiration from conservative politicos and pundits. Texas journalists James Moore and Wayne Slater know their subject quite well since they are also responsible for the incisive book upon which the 2004 film version of "Bush's Brain" was based. The fiery documentary detailed Rove's tactics in orchestrating the successful 2000 presidential campaign. Moore and Slater's new book goes much further in showing a man who has made himself even more indispensable as a virtual Iago figure to Bush's Othello.

The co-authors assert that nothing is sacred to Rove, in particular, founding democratic principles and the U.S. Constitution, when it comes to attaining victory and that in fact, the amoral gamesmanship he feels is required is what motivates him. It's a scarifying portrait but one that comes across as far more textured than one would expect due to some surprising disclosures from the co-authors. They fill in details of Rove's background with his long-standing affiliation with several neo-con organizations, which in turn, shaped his drive toward dismantling unions, privatizing Social Security and diminishing those he saw as his political enemies, homosexuals and anti-war activists. However, the most publicized disclosure is the personal account of how Rove's beloved stepfather revealed himself to be gay and left his mother for another man. It is debatable whether this perceived act of betrayal was the lightning rod for Rove's aggregation of anti-gay sentiments.

At the same time, his persistent efforts to smear opponents appear to have this common thread, and the co-authors effectively show us to what degree he was willing to use this tactic. It is not a new campaigning approach, but it's one that Rove has elevated to an art form in 2004. Targeting the Christian fundamentalist conservatives that constitute the largest cross-section of the Republican base, Rove used whatever means necessary to convey the conviction that Democratic opponents were dominated by a significant homosexual lobby. The most egregious maneuver was how he purportedly orchestrated a campaign of automatic telephone messages to be placed to thousands of numbers nationwide. The infamous message stated it was from the Kerry campaign and that if elected, gay rights would be a top priority. Moreover, beyond the presidential campaign, the Republican machine under Rove's direction managed to put anti-marriage equality referenda on eleven state ballots under the guise of groups like the Traditional Values Coalition, which were fronts for the religious right.

While anti-gay paranoia was his linchpin, Rove was not limited in his arsenal of weapons, whether it was vote suppression in Ohio where Bush won by a slim margin or pressure placed on members of Congress to support controversial bills. Moore and Slater detail the smear campaign developed against Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame to cover up the truth about Bush's rationale for invading Iraq, as well as the connection to Jack Abramoff and the resulting corporate corruption scandals. While Rove's hypocrisy is fiercely documented and obviously reviled by his opponents, his supporters are ambivalent about his methods. Moore and Slater provide a comprehensive portrait of a man who based on his record, illustrates a total disregard for democracy. He has amassed a fearsome respect among the White House inner circle for the past six years, and one wonders from this fascinating book whether a possible dismantling of the Republican hegemony in the House will diminish his standing.