Rove just wanted to have fun, not clash with Crow

04/23/2007 5:38 PM, Reuters


Karl Rove, political strategist to President George W. Bush, just wanted to have fun at a weekend black-tie dinner, rather than debate global warming with singer Sheryl Crow, the White House said on Monday.

Rove, Crow and Laurie David, producer of former Vice President Al Gore's environmental film "An Inconvenient Truth," had a heated exchange at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night that involved global warming and perceived insults.

"I think Karl Rove just wanted to have some fun on Saturday night. And I think he wasn't the only one," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, in an apparent reference to lyrics of Crow's signature hit, "All I Wanna Do (is have some fun)."

Did Rove leave the dinner early in a huff over the confrontation? "Rove left to get in the motorcade to go home. That's what we all have to do if we're in the motorcade," she said.

"The president's record on climate change is very strong, Perino said.

Environmentalists have long assailed Bush, a former Texas oilman with close support in the industry, saying he failed to take climate change seriously.

The White House says Bush has acknowledged for years that climate change is a problem and favored developing new technologies for clean energy and to reduce dependence on oil.

Crow and David have been touring the United States promoting environmental awareness. They described their encounter with Rove at the dinner, a major Washington occasion attended by the media, politicians and celebrities, on a blog at www.huffingtonpost.com.

"We asked Mr. Rove if he would consider taking a fresh look at the science of global warming. Much to our dismay, he immediately got combative. And it went downhill from there," they wrote.