By Barb Shelly, Kansas City Star editorial page columnist

When Karl Rove was working to get George W. Bush into the White House, he ran with the happy notion that W, although a teetotaler, was the kind of guy we'd all like to have a beer with.

Now Rove, according to an ABC News report, is painting Barack Obama as a different kind of drinker.

"Even if you never met him, you know this guy," Rove said, at a Capital Hill breakfast with Republican insiders. "He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by."

Let's leave aside the point that nothing in Obama's background suggests he's spent any time at the country club. When did one's choice of drink (even if it's another myth) become a defining qualification for the White House?

And where is Rove in this scenario? He's the guy passing out the kool-aid, hoping everyone will be fooled.