I Forgot

From today's New York Times:

By most accounts inside and outside the administration, Mr. Rove is relentlessly cheerful, presenting himself as an optimistic face in a gloomy White House. One person who met Mr. Rove said he attributed Mr. Bush's problems more to external events, in particular Hurricane Katrina and Iraq, than to anything the White House did wrong.

Huh?

Is Karl Rove actually saying that if Hurricane Katrina hadn't hit and if we weren't fighting in Iraq, President Bush would have a perfect record? Isn't that kind of like saying if Lincoln hadn't been shot at Ford Theater it would have been a terrific night for a play?

I mean, if we're not supposed to judge a president by how he deals with "external events", how would Rove like us to judge him?

Oh. Right.