Rove dominates Sunday TV news shows

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Republican presidential adviser Karl Rove, who plans to leave Washington in two weeks, made the television news show circuit Sunday, appearing on three shows.

On "Fox News Sunday," Rove said his departure does not mean President George W. Bush will be weakened during his final months in office. He called Bush "a bold leader who's going to be milking every single moment that he's got in this office."

Rove said the GOP has "an excellent chance to keep the White House" in the 2008 presidential election because "there's plenty of time" for the party to turn around its low public approval ratings.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Rove said he thinks Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will be the Democratic candidate for president next year but called her "fatally flawed" because of her high negative ratings.

Rove said he doesn't really care about his critics, who "think all kinds of bad things about me."

On CBS' "Face the Nation," Rove declined to characterize contemporary politics as "meaner" than they have ever been. He said politicians dating back to the founding fathers found ways to attack their opponents.