Review

Bush's Brain chronicles Karl Rove's association with the Bush family starting in the early 1970s, when, during Rove's contentious and confrontational — and successful — bid for the national office of Chairman of College Republicans, he was backed by George Sr. and later hired by him. He worked for George W. later in that decade, and was instrumental in tutoring him in the machinations of Texas government in a race for a congressional seat. Rove's early attraction to extreme conservatism, combined with hero-worship admiration for the brash, self-assured, bomber-jacket-wearing Dubya, forged the alliance that took Dubya to the White House and continues today. Over the years, Rove's junkyard dog approach to campaigning has become ever more virulent, ever less constrained by any moral or ethical consideration. The film presents interviews with former political opponents (both Democratic and Republican), presidential scholars, upper echelon GOP operatives, reporters and journalists to create a picture of Svengalian control and a single-minded dedication to winning at any and all costs. Himself tutored early on by Lee Atwater, godfather of dirty tricks, Rove will use deliberate misrepresentation (lies), rewrite history, spread nasty rumors and create obfuscating diversions to direct attention from actual issues. He helped Bush to defeat effective and popular Ann Richards in the 1994 governor's race, and questioned the war records of both John McCain and Max Cleland (who lost three limbs in Vietnam), both of whom lost their elections after egregious character assassination. He employs the same tactics against John Kerry. The film creates a disturbing picture of opportunism run amok, with several interviewees contending that Rove is now co-president, as he was co-governor before: Rove thinks it, Bush does it. Rove is at the very least a key element in Bush family politics for the past 30 years, and is the dark underside of the trademark good-old-boy affability exuded by the Bush clan. This is must-see viewing for politicos.

 -- Ann Yarabinee