Rove thinks Bush is a good person? I doubt that's ever been a factor for Rove one way or another. It's all about power with Rove. Rove was successfully practicing the politics of deceit and smear when he was a Young Republican. He expressed the ambition to be the power behind the throne of a president long before he met Bush.

Bush's role in his relationship with Rove has been essentially passive. Bush didn't decide to go into politics and hire Rove to manage his campaigns. It was the other way around. Rove met Bush, decided Bush would be a manageable vehicle for his ambitions, and persuaded Bush to go into politics.

Speaking of Bush's passivity, I suppose everybody has heard how Cheney came to be V.P.? When Bush 2 was running for prez, Bush 1 sent Cheney to "help" Bush 2 select a VP candidate. After taking Bush's measure, Cheney selected himself.