May 21st, 2005 3:02 AM
By Steven Harmon / Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Could it be that Karl Rove's family history played a role in President Bush's visit to Calvin College this weekend?
Perhaps the senior adviser to the president has a soft spot in his heart for the Grand Rapids college, considering his grandmother, Margaret (Peet) Rove, and her two sisters -- Lillian and Grace Peet -- all from Jamestown Township, attended Calvin and Hope College around the end of World War I, according to Calvin and Hope records.
"Never underestimate the influence of grandmothers and aunts," said Ruth Holkeboer, whose father was a first cousin to the Peets, making her a distant relative of Rove. "To say there's any connection between that and picking Calvin, I can't say. But they were definitely an influence on Karl Rove."
Rove couldn't be reached, but he told longtime West Michigan friend Peter Secchia on Thursday he didn't know his grandmother attended Calvin. He did know that his great-aunts attended Hope. He told Secchia his father, Louis Rove Jr., also attended Hope briefly.
Actually, Rove's grandfather, Louis Sr., married Margaret's sister Lillian years later after Margaret died.
So what other explanations are there for why Bush chose Calvin College as one of only two locales -- the other being the Naval Academy on May 29 -- for commencement addresses this spring?
Newsweek magazine and other national publications speculated Bush chose Calvin as a way to speak to his evangelical base in a Midwestern state. But, Calvin officials say the choice was more nuanced than simply preaching to the faithful.
"I think the White House knows Calvin is not a clone of the more fundamental universities, like Bob Jones University," said Joel Carpenter, the college provost. "It's an opportunity to extend their constituency."
Bush's appearance may signal a desire to identify himself more closely with the Christian center rather than with the religious right, where critics often have pigeonholed him, said the Rev. Peter Borgdorff, executive director of ministries for the Christian Reformed Church.
"I think Calvin College represents a more centrist place on the spectrum than perhaps some other places," said Borgdorff, who has met with Bush as a board member for the faith-based Call to Renewal anti-poverty movement. "He knows better than to assume every Christian college is associated with the religious right. The president is interested in being perceived as a religious moderate, not a religious extreme."
There's also the political fortunes of Michigan Republicans heading into the 2006 campaign. With ex-Alticor CEO Dick DeVos, an Ada Township resident and major GOP donor, considering a run for governor, a visit by the president in his hometown could provide a boost.
"I think (Bush) wanted a place he could feel comfortable," said Doug Koopman, a Calvin College political science professor. "And Republicans see Jennifer Granholm and especially Sen. Debbie Stabenow as beatable."
As many political decisions go, sometimes it just takes a trusting, personal relationship to decide on something like a venue for a commencement address.
"There's the direct or indirect lobbying -- checking around with the DeVoses, the Pete Secchias, to ask, 'Is Calvin a good venue?' " Koopman said.
Indeed, Secchia's relationship with Rove factored into the decision on Calvin. The two have known each other since the mid-'70s.
"They called me and said, 'Do you think this is a good choice of a small Midwestern college?' " Secchia said. "I don't know why Calvin, and didn't ask. If you're going to go to the Midwest, you pick an area where you're supported."
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