Grover Norquist writes in the Washington Post today about his friend Karl Rove and says the White House strategist should be hailed for two major accomplishments in his career. The first is turning Texas into a Republican stronghold.

Rove's second big accomplishment was the 2000 Republican primary. Arizona Sen. John McCain ran as a former prisoner of war with tons of charisma and several million dollars in network campaign contributions in the form of cheerleading thinly veiled as media coverage. A McCain win would have changed the Republican Party from the Reagan coalition of limited government into one led by a populist seeking approval from the establishment press on taxes, guns, energy and judges. Yes, Bush began the 2000 campaign as a "compassionate conservative" — whatever that was — but after losing New Hampshire with this strategy, he reenergized the entire Reagan coalition in South Carolina and beyond. He won a majority of registered Republicans voting in every single primary.

While Norquist credits Rove, no one really knows who was responsible for the Bush turnaround in South Carolina. But it's pretty widely known how it happened, as McCain's former campaign manager wrote in 2004:

Anonymous opponents used "push polling" to suggest that McCain's Bangladeshi born daughter was his own, illegitimate black child. ...

We had no idea who made the phone calls, who paid for them, or how many calls were made. Effective and anonymous: the perfect smear campaign.

Ron Suskind has written of other underground activity in South Carolina.

Bush loyalists, maybe working for the campaign, maybe just representing its interests, claimed in parking-lot handouts and telephone "push polls" and whisper campaigns that McCain's wife, Cindy, was a drug addict, that McCain might be mentally unstable from his captivity in Vietnam, and that the senator had fathered a black child with a prostitute.

The 2000 South Carolina Republican primary has become a prime example of sleazy campaign tactics. Now Norquist wants to elevate it — in honor of Rove — as an important and positive turning point for the Republic. I'm sure Rove appreciates Norquist using the Post to give him full credit for his work.