** FILE ** White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove smiles and waves as he walks on the White House grounds in this June 13, 2006 file photo, with an unidentified aide. Rove, President Bush's close friend and chief political strategist, plans to leave the White House at the end of August, joining a lengthening line of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 1 1/2 years of the administration. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)