Rove Reveals ‘Attacks’ Ted Cruz Leveled Against Bush That Left Former President in ‘Astonishment’

Karl Rove explained on Fox News Tuesday that certain "attacks" Ted Cruz leveled against George W. Bush had left a bad taste in the former president's mouth.

Karl Rove talks in his mobile phone as he walks across the floor before the second session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. (Photo: AP)

The remarks from "the architect" came one day after a report that Bush had told a small group of donors that the Texas senator gets under his skin.

"This is from one person at am event. Neither you or I were there. I do know that President Bush has expressed some, on a number of occasions, a little bit of astonishment as to the attacks that Ted made on him," Rove said.

He continued, "For example, he went out of his way to attack his appointment of John Roberts to the Supreme Court and his father's appointment of David Souter to the Supreme Court. And yet at the time of the appointment of John Roberts, Ted Cruz was a personal friend of John Roberts, wrote a strongly positive piece about him emphasizing the personal friendship and knowledge. He said both John Roberts and the man that appointed him, George W. Bush, were strong, dependable conservatives."

[sharequote align="center"]"For example, he went out of his way to attack his appointment of John Roberts..."[/sharequote]

"And yet then turned around for political purposes and attacked 43 and 41, for appointing bad people to the Supreme Court but didn't say a single word about Ronald Reagan appointing Justice Kennedy and Justice O'Connor who on many occasions over the years disappointed conservatives," Rove concluded. "So he thought it was a little bit opportunistic and wondered why he was going out of his way... instead of making a principled case that, you know, 'Look, presidents have appointed judges who turned out to be wrong, I won't be that way.' He took two men whose last name was Bush and said they each appointed a bad person and then was quiet about somebody who appointed two people."

(H/T: Real Clear Politics)

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