Pundits, bloggers go wild over Rove's resignation

Karl Rove is the most polarizing American political figure outside of the man he serves, President George W. Bush.

So it was no surprise that liberal corners of the blogosphere rejoiced at his announcement Monday that he will resign ("THERE IS A GOD!!!!!!" read a post at myDD.com) and were dubious about his stated desire to spend more time with his family.

Just as predictably, many conservatives online sounded piously respectful ("The Boy Genius is gone" headlined a blog post at the conservative TownHall.com) and mourned the loss of the man known as "Bush's Brain" and "The Architect" of Bush's ascendancy to the White House.

Yet in a sign of the deepening divisions in the Republican Party, the conservative punditocracy wasn't all singing together. Some prominent conservative commentators ripped Bush's deputy chief of staff and senior adviser since 2001 as he makes his the way out the door.

Michelle Malkin, the commentator behind one of the most highly trafficked conservative blogs, www.michellemalkin.com, took on the Wall Street Journal article that broke Rove's resignation Monday:

"Not a word here about the Harriet Miers debacle, the botching of the Dubai ports battle, or the undeniable stumbles in post-Iraq invasion policies. And not a word about the spectacular disaster of the illegal alien shamnesty, which will be the everlasting stain Rove leaves behind.

"Imagine how much better off the White House and the Republican Party might be now if he had, in fact, left a year ago. Yes, there's the legacy Rove should ponder as he puts his feet up," Malkin wrote.