Lexington

摘要

What is it about second-term presidents? Richard Nixon was hounded out of office by Mark Felt (aka, Deep Throat). Ronald Reagan was tarnished by Iran-contra. Bill Clinton was brought to his knees by Monica Lewinsky. Even Washington and Jefferson were afflicted by second-termitis. Now it is George Bush's turn to sing the second-term blues. There is no better symbol of Mr Bush's downward trajectory than Karl Rove. In the wake of Mr Bush's victory last November, Mr Rove was strutting around town like a peacock—and justifiably so. Now the peacock has morphed into a pheasant. Mr Rove is in the sights of two of Washington's most bloodthirsty predators: a tough, ambitious prosecutor and an embittered media, desperate to get even with an administration that has often played them for fools.