Here lies the political career of Karl Rove, the most hated man in American politics.

Rove announced today his resignation, effective August 31.

Deception and divisiveness have been Rove’s stock in trade since the summer of 1973, when Rove launched a dirty campaign against Robert Edgeworth of Michigan to become the national chairman of the College Republicans.

Rove’s supporters, for example, challenged the credentials of Edgeworth supporters in what would become the precursor for voter suppression efforts in Florida and Ohio during the 2000 and 2004 elections.

George H.W. Bush, then chairman of the Republican National Committee, decided the race and appointed Rove to the post.

Bush’s favor had devastating consequences for the country more than 30 years later. Under his son's administration, Karl Rove has been the chief cover-up artist for a President who lied to the American people, misled us into war, and who continues to put partisanship ahead of the people.

From the political purge of federal prosecutors to the character assassination of one of the first people to publicly reveal the twisting of intelligence reports on Iraq, Rove was behind the curtain on every major Bush Administration scandal.

Even as he leaves office, Rove continues to dodge calls to testify under oath about his role in the partisan firings of eight US Attorneys and when asked to produce e-mails about his role, 4,000 of them disappeared in Republican National Committee computers.

The Office of Special Counsel, a White House agency, launched earlier this year, a broad investigation into key elements of White House political operations that Rove spearheaded for more than six years.

In his wake, Rove leaves an embattled and embittered nation.

His use of wedge issues like gay marriage, abortion and terrorism to stoke the conservative base has left our country without the words to discuss the complexities of these subjects without resorting to accusations and bumper sticker ideology.

The politicizing of the US Surgeon General’s Office robbed the public from hearing important information about second-hand smoke, emergency contraception, and mental and global health issues.

As Democrats, it would be tempting to dance on Rove’s political grave. But when asked to comment on Rove’s departure, President Bush said “I have his number and he has mine.”

Or as they say, “Every goodbye ain’t gone.”