Rove Ends Long Career As Top Bush Adviser (2/3)

As the key strategist for first Governor then President Bush, Rove learned lessons that paid big political dividends.

He would always advise candidates, whether they were running for president, Congress or local office, to stand for something.

Current and former White House colleagues paid tribute to Rove as the key strategist in helping Mr. Bush win the presidency twice.

Democrats were more critical of Rove's legacy" class="hjdict" word="legacy" target=_blank>legacy. Democratic Senator and presidential contender Barack Obama said Rove was the architect of a strategy that left the country more divided than any time in memory.

Democrats are also glad to see him go because he helped to beat them in presidential election cycles in 2000 and 2004 and in a Congressional midterm election in 2002.

But Rove got some of the blame last year when Republicans lost control of Congress, leading to a mixed assessment of his political prowess" class="hjdict" word="prowess" target=_blank>prowess by the experts.

In addition to setting the strategy for two Bush victories, Rove also worked to implement a broader goal of making Republicans the majority party in the U.S. and dominating both the presidency and the Congress for years to come.