On what bases does anyone assign political genius to Rove?
He took a GOP Congressional Majority and possession of the White House and turned it into a absolute political minority.
His only claim to fame is winning 2 Presidential races by the skin of his teeth and being completely wrong in his forecasting before the 2006 and 2008 elections.
Sorry but I see no evidence of any real “genius” from Rove other then that at marketing his reputation
He generated a lot of Conservative support and donations for O'Donnell that she wouldn't have otherwise had and kept the tea party base fired up?
On the surface I don't like what he did to O'Donnell.
His "genius" is certainly not for things that went on in the Bush years when he was an advisor to Bush. For example, Bush signing McCain-Feingold, Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers, Bush's push for amnesty, the part of Bush's tax cuts that greatly increased the percentage of people who pay no income tax, etc.