Rove, who the famously liberal magazine takes care to note is the “principal architect of the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush,” answers its back-page Proust Questionnaire in the February issue.

He says his greatest fear is running out of money, his greatest extravagance is books and the most overrated virtue is patience.

And his motto? He takes that one from the Army’s 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Blackhorse: “Be prepared! Find the bastards. And pile on!”