Friday Vid Picks: Karl Rove

“Karl Rove is movin’ on down the road,” President Bush told the press from the White House lawn last week. The Deputy Chief of Staff will officially depart the White House at the end of August. Known variously as “The Architect,” “The Boy Genius,” and “Turd Blossom,” Mr. Rove’s political strategizing ensconced the Republican majority for six years. How will the video sphere remember the political consultant?

Karl Rove Rapping It Up

Rove’s foray into the world of hip-hop will likely be the most prominent ghost in the intertube machine. “MC Rove” bopped and “twitched” to the beat at this year’s annual Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner; he also made jokes about “tear[ing] the tops off small animals.” Yikes.

Nixon’s Reelection Campaign

YouTube, much like a time machine, turns up some amazing gems from broadcast journalism history. Here Dan Rather interviews a 21-year-old Karl Rove, then the GOP college director of the campaign to re-elect President Nixon. Thanks, Ze.

Dude, Where’s My Karl?

Celebrating the resignation of “Bush’s Brain,” Jon Stewart this week examined the mainstream media’s interactions with the often-evasive Rove by showcasing a review of Rove’s interview highlights. Stephen Colbert was much nicer, and even gave the recently unemployed some much-needed work.

Karl Rove Election Night 2000

Interviewed during the hours when Florida was put back in the “too-close-to-call” category, Rove here lays out for CNN the Bush campaign’s view of the numbers. Reflecting seven years back on “Indecision 2000,” it’s strange to behold the circus of mainstream media poll projections.

Entourage D.C.

Super News’s Entourage D.C. reminds me very much of Comedy Central’s Lil’ Bush, for better and for worse. However, casting Bush and his staff as the member of HBO’s Entourage actually works really well. Dick Cheney’s Ari Gold is spot on, and I must admit I chuckled at the “Iraqaua Man” jokes. We at NewTeeVee are still waiting to see if our own Entourage parody, Entourage.tv, gets picked up.

Note: Next week’s Vid Picks will feature the festival of self-expression and desert-hippie-antics of Burning Man. If you’ll be uploading video amid the myriad of mirages please post links in the comments; we’ll include them next Friday. Wish I could be there with you.