The Architect moves on. Gigot: Irreplaceable. Bonus: No indictments! Story here.

Reaction today:
Novack: Rove is one of the canniest and most successful managers in American political history. Yet he is viewed within his own party’s ranks, especially on Capitol Hill, as part of the problem afflicting the Grand Old Party.Rove is unique, a rare political mechanic with a comprehensive knowledge of American political history.
Dan Froomkin: When historians look back at Bush’s squandered opportunity to unite the country and even the world behind a shared agenda after 9/11, part of the blame will go to Vice President Cheney and the decision to invade Iraq. But part will accrue to Rove for choosing to use national security as a wedge issue. (Victoria:Gee, and all this time I thought it was the Deaniacs who did that.)
Lowry: Rove gets blamed for polarizing American politics, but Bush had become a hate figure on the left by the end of the Florida voting controversy. After Sept. 11, Republicans won in 2002 and 2004 on national security, which Rove’s critics say he unnecessarily politicized — but, given the importance of the issue and the deep divisions between the parties on it, this was legitimate, indeed unavoidable.
Corn: But leaving is too good for Rove. He was Bush’s partner in the Iraq war, yet he (like other Bush aides, including, most recently, Dan Bartlett) are abandoning ship before the fight is done. Rove has argued that the Iraq war is essential for the survival of the United States (that is, for all of our families). So how can he walk away with the war not won?