Justin asks whether Rove “honestly feels” unfortunate to not have faith. It’s possible he does. At times I am jealous of people with faith because for them, the world is certain and knowable. They can set doubt and ambiguity aside; they need not create a moral ambiguity or balance competing visions of “the good” when considering either a moral or a policy question. Usually, I return pretty quickly to appreciate the advantages of not having a pre-defined world vision, particularly one left over from the myths of Bronze Age nomads, but I can see how having all the answers at your fingertips, and not needing evidence to back them up, could feel liberating.

Rove’s job is to create, maintain, and build support for his political patron, who has been George Bush for the past ten or so years. He has chosen to do this by pursuing a “build the base” strategy rather than by making appeals to the center or even the center-right of the American public. So professionally, ambiguity is a singularly bad thing for Rove. He may (and I think does) honestly believe that the country is better-off under Republican government than it would be if Democrats were calling the shots, but that’s not the same thing as religious faith. And, his boss is a person of deep faith, and he may simply want to emulate his boss to better serve him.

So yes, I think there is as good a chance as can exist that Rove is being honest in a meaningful way when he expresses regret over not having personal religious faith.