WILL FREDDIE TEAM UP WITH JASON?

Over at MyDD, psericks wonders whether Karl Rove will join an '08 campaign and, if so, which one. I think D. Sidhe is right when she says in comments here that "it seems more likely he'll go back to quiet, behind-the-scenes string-pulling on behalf of the party's interest in their eventual nominee." But if that's not what happens, who's his man?

psericks says:

Someone on DailyKos noted that the timing is a little convenient if Rove is stepping down at the end of August and Fred Thompson is announcing at the beginning of September. Thompson also seems like the best fit for Rove in terms of folksy style, social conservative background, etc., but then Thompson has had his fair share of troubles lately.

I'm sure it won't surprise you that I wonder about Rove and Rudy. The two of them certainly seem to have been circling each other:

Radar Online, June '05:

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani's talk-show cheerleading for George W. Bush may be getting tiresome, but it's all part of GOP strategist Karl Rove's master plan to get "America’s mayor" elected in 2008, we hear. But not to the Oval Office.

According to well-placed political sources, Giuliani has been working closely with Rove to build a Presidential platform against presumed Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. "There’s been talk on Capitol Hill for months about Rove's 'secret meetings' in New York with Giuliani," says one D.C. operative....

But sources say the job Rove has in mind for Giuliani isn't the one the ever-ambitious ex-mayor is angling for....

(Radar's theory was that Rove was eyeing Rudy for the VP slot, on the assumption that he couldn't win the nomination.)

SourceWatch:

Margaret Hoover was hired in September 2006 as Deputy Finance Director for former New York mayor and Republican 2008 presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani's Solutions America political action committee. Hoover left the Giuliani campaign in April 2007, "to pursue the ever-popular 'other opportunities,' adding that she's 'still supporting Rudy for president.'"

Hoover, a fund-raiser, "used to work in the White House" for President George W. Bush's "political guru" Karl Rove....

"Her greater value was to shore up the former mayor’s credentials with conservatives and to signal Giuliani’s seriousness about a White House run. Hoover ... also brought important national campaign experience to Giuliani’s presidential quest, having worked for Bush-Cheney '04," Chris Smith wrote in the April 9, 2007 issue of New York Magazine.

Newsweek, January 2007:

When Republicans first began to talk about Giuliani as a national candidate after 9/11, a major obstacle seemed to be his frosty relationship with the White House and Karl Rove. Giuliani went quickly to work on bridging the gulf, praising President Bush at every opportunity and campaigning hard for his re-election in 2004. He is now one of the most consistent cheerleaders for the president’s handling of the war in Iraq and the broader war on terror.

New York Times, January 2007:

Rudolph W. Giuliani has hired Olsen & Shuvalov, a prominent Texas consulting firm with ties to Karl Rove, to assist his presidential exploratory committee with fundraising, voter outreach, and development of his political message, according to campaign officials.

...Olsen & Shuvalov is a communications and political strategy firm in Austin, Texas, that grew out of the old Karl Rove & Company direct-mail fmarketing firm. When Mr. Rove joined George W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1999, he sold the assets of his firm to Todd Olsen and another former employee....

We'll see. But if it's superficial swagger Karl likes, Rudy's as good a choice as any.