George Stephanopoulos: What's the real news today?

Wrist slap? Please - Rove will still be in the White House a few steps away from the "policymakers" ... he'll function exactly what he's always done. Can you imagine the Dear Leaker or the Dear Vice Leaker even hesitating before picking up the phone or walking down the hall. Please.

How sweet it is!

If Senor gets the job, Campbell should be prohibited from covering politics for the duration. Just like Andrea Mitchell should have been.

I really can't see how you can see the Rove move as a "wrist slap". I view it more as a move Rove into position to manipulate the upcoming 2006 elections where the Republicans are facing serious troubles.

They simply want to unleash him on the media and the electorate--set him free to spread hate and lies in an attempt to duplicate his past successes.

Make no mistake, Karl Rove is and remains the puppet president's master. What would Bush possibly do without him? If he frees him now from some obligations, that can only mean, Karlemann can focus on what he does best: design new "fear & smear" tactics so that these crooks keep their majority in both houses.

Actually, I was hoping for a headline of, "Bushs' Brain Demoted, Mcllelan Resigns."

So, now the real question is: should Rove still be on the government's payroll, if he's going to be concentrating on partisan politics?

Shouldn't he now be working off-site and paid from other than taxpayers' funds?

Lots of us want to know the answer to this one.

Hey George!

I'm one conservative that really likes you style, insight, and over-all fairness. Keep up the good work.

Tom Kragt

Oh George your so naive. One would think you would know better. This whole shuffling thingy is like putting lipstick on a pig George...it's still a pig! All they are doing is moving the deck chairs around the Titanic. The criminal Bush Regime is still going to sink, just with a personnel shift in the wheelhouse.

WHY ARE THEY GETTING RID OF THE YES MEN AND NOT THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEMS. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER PLOY BY GW TO GET RID OF HIS FALL GUYS.

Interesting article. You said that Karl Rove's new position in the West Wing will be to "use the executive branch resources for GOP candidates in the Fall". Does that mean that the tax payers are paying the salary for Karl Rove to work for the RNC? Is that legal? Is that fair? The DNC has no one on the White House payroll. Do you remember the flak Al Gore got from the Republicans who accused him of making calls from his office in the White House to get contributions for the campaign? He was called every name that they didn't call Pres. Clinton.
Seriously, I want to find out if Rove can work on the political business of the midterm elections for the RNC on the people's money.

ooooooh another washington insider assessment! A wrist slap? This is exactly what Rove was going to do until November all along. So now we get the "expert analyst" biting hard on the fantasy that the bush bunch is working hard to revamp. Puh-lease. Once again the bush gang is using the gullible fawning press to distract them from the real issues. Instead of investigating the very real crimes, and astounding and repeated failures of this bunch, you're (not all that impressively) dissecting the smoke and mirrors.

I agree with the people who say this is no wrist slap for Rove. It was conveniently timed so it looks like part of a general shake-up. Behind that smoke screen, you can be sure the Rove Machine with its dirty tricks is revving up to full throttle just in time to try salvaging the Congressional elections this fall, and doing it on the taxpayers' dollar. He should be on the RNC payroll instead. You of all people, George Stephanopoulos, have such expertise in running a successful campaign that it's surprising to see you characterize this move as Rove's "taking a hit"!

Despite the public shift in his duties, he's bound to be in the thick of policy decisions behind the scenes. When has Bush so much as sneezed without consulting Rove and Hughes?

On another subject, why is this blog so hidden? I only stumbled on it because I happened to go to the World News Tonight page. I went back to the ABC News home page to see if I missed it there, but all I could find was a tiny link over on the left-hand side that said "Blogs," without any description to entice viewers in. When I clicked on that, I found a treasure trove! If anyone else found their way here the same way I did, look what else you're missing!

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Blogs/

Please, please ABC News, promote these blogs on your home page! I've only had time to skim briefly tonight, but your correspondents have written WONDERFUL pieces that deserve a good audience.

Just as a glaring example... Ned Potter's most recent piece in Science and Society about whether a fetus can feel pain can't have been promoted at all, or such a hot button issue would surely have been deluged with responses. (It's not a topic I particularly enjoy - he's written about so many other compelling subjects - but the single response is a sure gauge of how invisible his blog is.)

Sorry to mention a rival, but CNN has a blog for its nighttime news show with a big promo for it in the middle of its home page. I don't get cable or satellite. For me, ABC is THE news source. You can do at least as well as CNN on your website, can't you? Why don't you add a section at the top of your home page, below "Today's Webcasts," called "Today's Blogs," and list the titles of the day's new pieces?

Please give your correspondents their due for such great writing, and give your audience a way to find in-depth coverage at a glance. I LOVE this interactive format and I'm certain so many others would agree if they knew all these blogs existed! The message boards are not for me. Posting there is a contact sport. This is civil discourse, and I applaud it and thank your correspondents for taking the time to write such great material, but please promote it!!

Jill Nikolaides

The "real news" is no news. This cosmetic change was probably orchestrated by Rove in the first place. Inside the beltway hacks consume this garbage like ice cream.