It's possibly (hopefully) quite advantageous the way this is working out. But brilliant?
More like accidental. Unless you believe that way back in Spring 2001, Rove's crystal ball revealed to him that in 2010 the Dems would be in control of the Senate, House, and White House, and that the economy would be in recession, putting the Dems in a quandary as to what to do with the sunsetting tax cuts.
Yes, Rove is magnificent. And, yes, he's a bastard. But clairvoyant he is not.
Oh, I agree this was nothing but accidental.