In politics, to get ahead, you diminish and reduce the numbers of those who you perceive as the enemy: people in power who work for another party and who are trying to eliminate or diminish you. Ideally you fill all elcted or appointed offices with people loyal to your party.

Rove is good at what he does because he understands that fundamental tactic. He is no worse than many lawyers who will do anything for their clients, regardless of the greater moral issues at stake. Like a lawyer, they can justify one act in the greater context of another. This is how they can represent the guilty and justify their actions.

Rove has been involved in all manner of such politically motivated directives, and his acts which one party deem as heroic and good, the opposing party perceive as immoral and evil. Because Rove was particularly successful in nullifying the gains of the opposing party, the opposing party hates him more than most.

No laws were broken in the firing of the attorneys. They serve at the whim of the President and once they illustrated they were politically opposed to him, they were fired - it's as simple as that. Every election brings the same fate to countless hardworking public servants - but particularly those whose politics are clearly in evidence.

Rove is doing, and has done that which has made him comfortably well off - working to eliminate and diminsh the opposing party. I don't have to approve of every single action that goes on in the politcal circus, behind the scenes, to understand why such actions are taken. Some acts seem dirtier than others, but this one is pretty straightforward politicking and in my opinion not worth anywhere near the public's money and time that the opposing party spent trying to find wrongdoing.