Sometimes, especially in politics, the reality is in the perception.
The Administration should have KNOWN that this would provide the Dems with the kind of negative fall-out they could and would use effectively in 2006 and 2008.
You're right, but sometimes you have to do what you think is right in spite of initial public opinion, and convince the public that it was the right decision (leading).
That job is much easier in this day and age with the internet, and when you have the facts on your side. The American public is smarter than they're acting right now, but they could come around once really thinking about the situation, not emotionally reacting to it.
Or, the American public is more juvenile than I thought, and we've all just witnessed the first acts of the Anti-Rove...or Bizzaro Rove!