Rove's remarks ignite argument

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans snarled at one another yesterday over whether liberals were soft on terrorism in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, a new sign that the bipartisan accord on war that prevailed in official Washington for nearly four years is unraveling.

The latest skirmish centered on a Wednesday-night speech in New York by White House political guru Karl Rove in which he ridiculed liberals for a wimpish response to terrorism in fall 2001. Democrats responded by accusing the White House of rewriting history and demanding that Rove apologize or be fired.

Speaking at a fund-raiser for the New York Conservative Party, Rove said, "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

Democrats responded by noting their enthusiastic support for the war against the Taliban regime that harbored al-Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan. They also released statements from President Bush in 2001 praising Congress, including Democratic leaders Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Dick Gephardt of Missouri, for their support.

"Our entire country came together after the 9/11 terrorist attacks," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said yesterday. "His [Rove's] shameful comments trying to revise history insult the victims of 9/11 and all of us who support them."

Rove's comments — and the response from the political opposition — mirrored earlier flaps over Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's criticism of Republicans, a House Republican's statement that Democrats demonize Christians and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin's comparison of the Guantánamo Bay prison to Nazi camps and Soviet gulags.

The White House said it would "of course not" heed Democratic demands for an apology from Rove or a presidential condemnation of the adviser's remarks, and it rejected Democratic charges that Rove's words amounted to a Bush administration attempt to exploit the war on terrorism for political gain.

During an unusually contentious daily briefing yesterday at the White House, press secretary Scott McClellan defended Rove, saying repeatedly that Rove was "simply pointing out the different philosophies and different approaches when it comes to winning the war on terrorism."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., called Rove's statement "an insulting comment."

A group of families whose relatives died on Sept. 11 issued a statement condemning the politicization of the tragedy. "We are calling on Karl Rove to resist his temptations and stop trying to reap political gain in the tragic misfortune of others. His comments are not welcome."

Material from Knight Ridder Newspapers, The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.