Valerie Plame could be outed because journalists didn't know that she was a spy.  Karl Rove can't exactly be outed any more.  

Educated voters are wise to him. 

His "contribution" to the Bush administration has made him notorious, in fact.  And now the Machiavellian "Boy Genius" officially leaves -- for a while anyway.  Let's take a parting, perceptive look.  With Republican support at its lowest level in decades, and Rove arguably the cause, he may take a brief holiday, but who really thinks that he won't be back? 

Whenever the master strategist does wander back into public prominence -- or if some brainy new strategist should rush into the Bush White House to fill the Rove void -- it would be smart to read the strategist's face and aura.  Deeper perception will out the truth about anyone. 

WHAT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES?

In this article, I will read Rove's lips, eyes, and other significant face data.  We'll be using the system of Face Reading Secrets® (my update of the 5,000-year-old art of physiognomy.  Each item of face data goes with a talent, plus a potential challenge. I'll signal the latter with a question mark.  

Here at Earth School, each of us starts out with zero awareness of personal talent.  Over time, we may discover those talents.  After that, our next assignment involves how to use those talents.  Clearly, Rove has done this last part exceptionally well.  

At Earth School, we are also invited to evolve beyond our limitations and problems.  Face reading alone doesn't show how far a person has progressed with this.  Alas, it won't show directly with Rove or anyone else. 

If you're the one whose face is being read, however, personal challenges are no big mystery.  Either you already know which problems you've overcome or else you can find out.  

What about assessing the ongoing challenges when you read a face that is not your own?  Karl Rove's for instance.  I will be the first to admit that I am not, actually, Karl Rove.  And, I'm betting, you are not him either.  So how can we decide if he has overcome one of the challenges flagged below with a question mark?  The answer to this is not so obvious.   

With a public figure, documented actions can provide feedback.  I'll leave to you the fun of providing that kind of commentary about Rove.  

As for "little people" like most of us, we don't leave a trail left in newsprint, but one can always read auras.  And even with the man President Bush has playfully called Turd Blossom, any venturesome aura reader can follow the auric trail.  I will be that venturesome reader in this month's zine.  So this article will be followed by one that explores Karl Rove's aura.  But for right now, let's read his face. 

FIND THE FACE DATA

Now, if you're already a face reader, join me by reading this picture before I even get started.  What do you see? How do you interpret it?

If you have any comments about anything in this article, be sure to email me at rose@rose-rosetree.com.   

TWO EYES, COUNT 'EM

Even the most besotted admirer of physiognomy (admittedly, that description would include me) shouldn't get too excited just because, when reading someone's face, she can count the number of eyes.  Not when that number is two. 

Indeed, I have found two eyes on Karl Rove.  So why does this excite me?  There is something highly unusual about those eyes.  Do you see it? 

Check out Karl Rove's eye angles.  Please, use my "Connect the Dots" method.  Read one eye at a time. Imagine a dot at the inner corner, at the tear duct.  Then imagine a dot at the outer corner.  This is at the three-way intersection of upper eyelid, lower eyelid and white of eye.  Yes, you will need to include the large puffs (hanging folds of skin), especially on Rove's left eye -- that would, of course, be his left, not the left side of the screen where you're reading.  More about puffs later, for now just find that second dot. 

Connect those two dots with an imaginary line and you will have a straight line.  No compass or protractor needed, I'm glad to say!  

That line has an angle.  Does it go up toward the ear, go downward, or march straight across the face?  

Yes, with that eye angle you have just read, it is straight. And so is his other eye.  Rove has a pair of even-angled eyes.  This is just extraordinary.

The Talent:  Having just one even-angled eye suggests uncanny ability to appreciate things as they are. Two such eyes will increase that radar vision exponentially. 

So Rove doesn't suffer from undue optimism, despite the impression he may sometimes give when speaking on TV interviews.  Neither does he find problems where they don't exist.  

Being a rather unpopular political figure, with some shockers to his credit as Senior Advisor to George Bush, Rove has been criticized for being unrepentant.  But to this face reader, this isn't surprising.  With two even-angled eyes, Rove would be one of the world's most pragmatic assessors of current events, including when he needs to 'fess up and when he doesn't.

The Challenge:  Uncommon realism, linked to a cold heart, could have uncommonly chilling consequences.  Has Rove used his realism to uplift humanity or to use humanity for his personal ends? 

PUFFS

Picture Karl Rove with two powder puffs.  (Just don't tell him.)  Then imagine those puffs growing smaller, then have one being placed over each eyelid.  It turns into flesh and hangs down, particularly over his left eye.

Because the left side of his face relates to his personal life, expect the following interpretation to be stronger in relationship to his personal life than Rove-at-work.   

The Talent:  Dedication!  Work is a life priority, and he tends to be so involved that he will ignore taking care of his health or other aspects of personal life.  This can be interpreted as a form of self-sacrifice, and certainly it speaks of great dedication.

The Challenge:  The bigger the puff, the bigger the temper over small inconveniences.  Has this irascibility been overcome? 

Short nose 

In proportion with the rest of his face, Karl has a very short nose. 

The Talent:  Hard work is his forte.  This nicely complements the above-mentioned talent with puffs.  For puffs, the percentage of life spent on work is large.  For the nose length, the style of work is intense.  Expect the owner of a short nose to be able to follow a routine, work day after day, put in all the required hours and then some. 

The Challenge:  Is all that hard work taken for granted?  Aw, doesn't Rove have the popularity that he deserves? 

In-angled ears

Unless Rove has parked a wad of chewing gum under each ear, they naturally stick close to the side of his head, which qualifies them as in-angled.  

The Talent:  Social radar is the corresponding skill.  In any group, Rove is able to understand the prevailing culture and adapt his manners, if he chooses.  Another advantage with these very in-angled ears may make you laugh: Imagine, Rove can be comfortable even with very, very conservative people! 

The Challenge:  Is the man with these ears ever willing to value people who aren't quite so conservative?  Might Rove be tempted to make everyone into his kind of conservative, just so that they can become more likeable?

Hard-edged nostrils

With experience as a face reader, you can look at a part of the face as if you are touching it with your eyes.  Try that now, as if you took your fingertip to trace the shape around Karl Rove's nostrils.  (You can do this in secret. I won't tell.)  

Prodding the texture of this nose part, you will notice that it is exceptionally tough, like a callous.  Remember the location is the part of the face about spending money.

The Talent:  Financial discipline, or strong ideas about how money ought to be spent.  Unbendable toughness of resolve.  Yes, Rove brings new meaning to the term "hard-nosed."

The Challenge:  Might there be some rigidity about economic beliefs?  Might that tough bit of nose translate into overuse of the word "should"?  (That would be as in, "Everyone should.")

A Straight lower lip

Imagine that you are applying lip liner to Rove's lower lip.  Don't be shy.  As a professional face reader, I have a policy about telling the world about any physiognomic cosmetic fantasies: "Don't ask, don't tell."

What a shock is in store for you, outlining Rove's mouth.  That pink is so unflattering! 

Now, seriously, the shape at this part of Boy Genius isn't what you would expect.  Nearly every mouth you meet, or decorate, has a curve at the bottom.  Some mouths are slightly curvy, while others are really rounded.  By contrast, Rove's lower lip is really boxy. 

The Talent: Ability to discuss facts without betraying any emotion.  Wow, more toughness!

The Challenge:  If other people have feelings, they may not like being discussed as if they didn't.  No problem for Rove.  But not valuing the little feelings of the little people, could that still be a challenge?  Read Rove's lips.

Now that we've looked at Rove's face, what does his aura say about his integrity?  For that, read below!