Karl Rove's A-Team

• The Return of Rove

Steve Schmidt
Age: 38
Currently: John McCain's senior strategist
Dark Past: Rovian operator who directed George W. Bush's campaign war room in 2004, painting John Kerry as a flip-flopper. From a desk in Dick Cheney's office, shepherded the Supreme Court nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Dark Present: Launched full-scale attack on "elite media" for trying to "destroy" Sarah Palin.
Actually Said: That The New York Times is a "Pro-Obama advovacy organization" and "150 percent in the tank for Obama."