Keep an Eye on What's Happening in D.C.

By Bob Slosser
CBN.com Columnist

CBN.com - It seems to me that moms and dads and even grandparents of young gals with political and all kinds a ambitions should shake their heads, "No, not today," when they hear the first inkling of a desire to seek an internship in Washington, D.C.

We’ve had some highly publicized reasons for thinking again about those desirable, short-term jobs for a youngster about to wind up a college career and head out into the world of work. The nation’s capital may not be the safest place for an attractive young lady.

And it’s not the obvious criminals and derelicts who are the biggest threat; it’s the men chosen for some of the most prestigious jobs in the country, jobs of trust calling for qualified men of character and honor.

Sure, I know this is a changing, expanding time in society, and people don’t play by all my old rules (unfortunately) of years gone by, but has it gone so far that Presidents and Congressmen and folks of that order are the ones to be feared?

Monica Lewinsky needed a good spanking, from what we read in the papers, and we don’t know as much about Chandra Levy; she may have, too. But these older guys, the politicians, are the real culprits; they know better (don’t they?)

We the people out in the boonies need to do a better job voting, and our education systems, families, role models (maybe there aren’t that many), authors, movie producers, CD makers, TV executives, and their randy consumers, need to take a good look in the mirror and then view some photos of the Levy family.

The press has been talking a lot about another Washington problem of a different sort (I hope). You folks hopefully by now know who Karl Rove is; if not, learn. The problem with my writing about him is that I like the guy who allegedly is his boss, the President, and I like a lot of what Rove himself thinks, at least to the extent I know. The problem is, however, that neither you nor I voted for him, and he’s doing a lot a things up there at the White House that may have a major impact on the country and maybe the world.

Lest you panic, that’s the way it always is been with chiefs of staff, advisers, counselors, and so on – in the manner of Sherman Adams with Eisenhower, Bobby Kennedy with JFK, Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman with Nixon, Jim Baker with Reagan, and John Sununu with Bush senior. Remember Harry Hopkins with FDR? Well, he had a lot a clout, dealt in a lot a big stuff, and put out a lot of fires. Rove is like that. His biggest danger, as some see it, is his long relationship with George W. This President has come to trust Rove a whole lot. He holds the title of "senior counselor," but nobody knows for sure what that entails. If you read the press, which is dangerous, he’s the most powerful presidential adviser since the advent of the modern White House under FDR – even outhitting cabinet members, and, they’d add, he may be dangerous.

As anyone would expect, the Democrats and the bloodthirsty newsmen have been going after Rove and it will probably get worse. Senator John McCain, a Republican who was Bush’s tough opponent for the party’s nomination for President, says rather mildly but scarily with the implications that "Rove is perceived as the nerve center of the administration." Others are more vicious, going after him on charges of possible wrongdoing in connection with press accounts of his meetings at the White House with honchos of companies that he owned stock in – to which the White House says, "No way." Because of Rove’s political power and dealing, such as masterminding the boss’s presidential campaign, there will be more attacks.

As reporters see it, "Get Rove, and you get Bush."

Don’t forget this, fellers, the whole country has known for years, even in Texas and Oklahoma, that George W. Bush is a manager, and that means he’s used to good vice presidents and directors and maybe a senior executive vice president or a right-hand counselor and confidante he trust. None of this is new. And both top guys think good, if you ask me. But let’s watch things, hear?