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Well... I do think in retrospect it's clear that some of the things Rove did to help Bush win tough elections in 2000 and 2004 did not help the Republican Party as a whole, even if both Rove and the president played a big role recruiting and electing Republican candidates from 2002-04. Many of these big ideas -- the prescription drug benefit, amnesty for illegal immigrants, No Child Left Behind -- divided the GOP from its base. Both parties in Congress played a role in Iraq, but the White House took the lead. But, as Quin suggests, congressional Republicans were in a malaise before Bush even came to this town. From 1998 on, it's hard to think of much the Republican majority did on its own to earn its keep.

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Iraq