this commentary is spot on:

Dan Froomkin has the best explanation of why Karl Rove made his controversial comments earlier this week and why he'll never apologize for them.

"Rove has a brilliant and so far unbeatable strategy when it comes to political warfare: He doesn't defend his candidate's weaknesses, he attacks his opponent's strengths. Unapologetically.

"Consider the 2004 campaign, when Rove was faced with a Vietnam problem. A war hero was running against his boss, who had opted to stay well out of harm's way. Rather than defend, Rove attacked -- and put John Kerry on the defensive.

"Today, Democrats are uniting against the war and the public is increasingly worried and critical about Bush's leadership. So what's Rove doing? Rather than defend against their criticisms, Rove has decided to go for the jugular."

When Democrats like Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) back down from justified criticism of Bush administration actions and others chastise their party chairman for his tough words, it's no wonder Republicans hold all the cards in Washington, D.C. right now.

just spot on, unfortunately. and it all just makes me sick