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Former Bush advisor Karl Rove is making media rounds promoting his new book "Courage and Consequence".  The book gives Rove’s take on controversial issues during the Bush years including the Iraq War, the Plame outing scandal, and Hurricane Katrina. Rove says it's all fact—but critics say he's trying to re-write history.
 

We're looking at perspectives from CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, The Washington Independent and others.


Author and reporter Wayne Slater told CNN the book is retaliation against all of the bashing against President Bush.

SLATER: “It is a full throated defense of all things Bush.  This is part of a legacy rebuilding project—varnish the legacy—give Bush credit for everything that went right. Blame the opponents and adversaries for everything that went wrong."
 
Some say one misstep was how the Bush administration handled the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity. Former Press Secretary Scott McClellan told MSNBC Rove denied being involved at first—but later apologized to McClellan when he was revealed as a source.

MCCLELLAN: “The reason Washington is so broken and so poisonous and people don’t want to have anything to do with it—or most people don’t at least—is because there is too little candor and too much intellectual dishonesty. Unfortunately and surprisingly but not surprisingly, but unfortunately we get both of those from Karl Rove in this book.”
 
The Washington Independent says the book may not reveal anything new about the Bush administration-- But it does serve a political purpose.

"The historical value of the book itself is minimal. It functions, instead, as a test of whether Rove's combination of pique and pride will be helpful as Bush administration veterans argue that they spent eight years changing America for the better..."

Rove appeared on Fox and Friends and the Today Show to talk about his book-- But the questions thrown at him on both programs were strikingly different.

“What’s happening there in the anteroom of the White House’s oval office?”

“Hey, let’s see what Karl looked like when he was young.”

 “You really discuss the formation of Karl Rove the political strategist and the soon-to-be Fox News contributor.”

“You write right in there that it’s uncomfortable to be as honest as you are. You came from a broken family.

Do you seen any similarities between your upbringing and President Obama's?”

LAUER: “Some are saying that this is 500 pages of you re-writing history.”

LAUER: “There was intelligence saying Sadaam did have weapons of mass destruction but there was also intelligence pointing the other direction.”

LAUER: "When did you first tell the president of the United States that in fact you were involved in that leak?”

LAUER: “The Federal government’s response in the first couple of days -- in those few days after Katrina was a disaster.” 

"Did anyone at the White House turn on the TV? We had real time information.”  (NBC- The Today Show)

On a lighter note, we leave you with Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert's reaction to the book.


"I'm so pumped that on Tuesday Karl Rove dropped his new book 'Courage and Consequence.' It's just like 'Pride and Prejudice' but even more prejudice ... I am telling you, folks-- this is a gripping who didn't done it. By the way-- spoiler alert-- Bush was a great president."