WASHINGTON-- President Bush's chief political adviser is leaving his job at the White House at the end of the month.

Karl Rove, 56, is a longtime member of Bush's inner circle who the president nicknamed "the architect" for designing the strategy that twice won Bush the White House.

White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino calls this "a big loss." She says Rove is "a great colleague, a good friend, and a brilliant mind."

Perino says Rove has been talking with the president for "about a year" regarding when might be a good time to leave. Ultimately, she says Rove decided there was never a good time, just the "right" time.

Several other top administration officials have announced their resignations since Democrats won control of Congress.

It's expected Rove will write a book after he leaves.

Rove's son attends college in San Antonio and he said he and his wife plan to spend much of their time at their home in Ingram, near Kerrville.

	Did you know?
Rove attended the University of Utah, the University of Texas at Austin and George Mason University; has taught at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and in the journalism department at the University of Texas at Austin.

Rove spoke about his impending departure in an interview in today's Wall Street Journal.

He said he thought about leaving a year ago but he didn't want to depart right after the Democrats regained control of Congress and then got drawn into policy battles over the Iraq war and immigration.

In the interview, Rove predicts Bush will regain his popularity, which has sunk to record lows because of the war in Iraq. He also predicts Democrats will nominate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, calling her "a tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate."