"In 2001, a newly-elected Republican president went to Washington, hoping not just to serve out eight years in the White House but to change the governing philosophy of his party and to launch a new era of Republican electoral majorities. He failed. This book is the first detailed analysis of the interaction between politics and policy in the Bush 43 presidency: about what he hoped to accomplish politically and how and why he failed. The central characters in this story are Bush himself and Karl Rove, Bush's chief political advisor, perhaps the most powerful political consultant in American history. Rove's ambition was to create the next realignment: to usher in an extended era of Republican electoral dominance. By late 2008, as the Bush presidency entered its final months, there was talk of realignment, but now it was the Democratic Party that controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress and was widely thought to be putting together a new majority coalition. This book explains what went wrong and how the political missteps and policy failures of Bush's advisor hold important lessons for future American presidents"-- Provided by publisher.

Introduction : Karl Rove and the president makers -- The Rove record -- Presidents need political help -- Good politics doesn't always mean good government, or never make a political consultant one of your top policy advisors -- Good politics doesn't always mean good government, part II -- You can't nickel and dime your way to a realignment -- When an administration is in crisis and the president refuses to acknowledge it, a political advisor may be the best person to warn the president -- Never forget that war is a political endeavor -- Communication is important, but don't expect miracles -- It's hard to have ideological heirs when you don't have much of an ideology -- Conclusion.