Issue Date: www.insightmag.com - Nov. 14-20, 2006, Posted On: 11/14/2006 Rove to stay until end of Bush presidency Despite being disappointed with Karl Roveâs election performance, President Bush has agreed to keep his chief political advisor for the remainder of his administration. Administration sources said Mr. Rove has sought to stay with Mr. Bush until the end of his presidency. The sources said despite pressure on the president to reshuffle his staff for 2007, Mr. Bush wants Mr. Rove by his side. "He knows too much," a source said. "The last thing the president wants is another published memoir and book tour of life inside the White House." The sources said Mr. Bush was unhappy with the failure of Mr. Rove's election strategy, which focused on national security. They said the GOP defeat would probably lead to a different relationship between the two men. For his part, the president appeared to blame Mr. Rove for the Republican Partyâs election strategy, based on the notion that there would not be a significant swing vote. In a jocular tone that accompanied a steely gaze, Mr. Bush portrayed himself as working the campaign circuit while Mr. Rove sat in the White House strategizing. "I obviously was working harder in the campaign than he was," Mr. Bush said of Mr. Rove. The sources said Mr. Rove would be the exception to plans for an overall administration shakeup. They said the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would launch a wave of departures from the White House as part of an effort to ensure cooperation with the Democratic-led Congress. "The goal here is survival," a GOP strategist said. As a result, the president envisions cooperation with the Democratic-controlled Congress on issues such as Iraq and immigration. The sources said the administration's domestic agenda, highlighted by Social Security reform and tax cuts, would be shelved as the Democrats seek to reverse the achievements of the outgoing GOP-led Congress. "I think this ends 26 years of hard-right conservatives," said Sen. Joseph Biden, Delaware Democrat, referring to last weekâs election results. "I think they closed the book on that." Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, said the GOP was trapped in a one-note campaign that ignored numerous concerns of the American people. Mr. Flake, who won re-election, said rising budget deficits and lack of fiscal discipline were never addressed in the White Houseâs election strategy. "The enforcement-only option just didn't play very well," Mr. Flake said. "The one thing we could have stopped, but didn't, was runaway spending." The GOP defeat in Congress was also expected to lead to a shakeup in the Republican congressional leadership. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said he would step down from the party leadership and the post of House Minority Leader was expected to pit Republican conservatives against liberals. At this point, the field includes outgoing House Majority Leader John Boehner, Rep. Mike Pence and Rep. Joe Barton. Mr. Barton and Mr. Pence are regarded as leading conservatives. The conservatives said they plan to address the corruption issue, which they contend provided the Democrats with at least 10 seats in the House. "The American people did not quit on the contract," Mr. Pence said, referring to the Contract With America that helped the GOP win both houses of Congress in 1994. "We did."