It was February 2nd, 2000, one day after John McCain's upset victory in New Hampshire. The Bush campaign was already in South Carolina-and in full panic mode. They were headquartered in Charleston, and debate over strategy was buzzing furiously in the War Room when Karl Rove walked in.
Rove was the political genius behind Bush's campaign, and one of the Governor's closest friends. He was also a disciple of Lee Atwater, inventor of the "South Carolina firewall" and the dark master of the arcane art of dirty political tricks. Rove was despised for his unethical tactics and respected for his ability to bring conservative candidates to victory.
Rove stood up to say, "We're going to hammer McCain, we're going to hit him on absolutely everything. And here's how."
Before Rove could say how the Bush campaign was going to do this, his phone rang. It was Bush himself, who wanted to talk about the campaign. Rove excused himself, stepping outside onto the sidewalk to speak to the Governor.
Tom Benton was driving home from work, exhausted. He was a construction worker, and had been working all day, was so tired that he could barely see straight. He had stopped to get some hot coffee to try and keep himself awake-It was precariously balanced on his dashboard.
Rove was pacing along the sidewalk, speaking with the Governor.
Benton hit a bump, and spilled his coffee, right into his lap, causing him to lose control of his truck, driving up onto the sidewalk.
Rove, hearing a screech of tires, turned to look, and stood horrified at the mass of steel hurdling towards him.
Benton looked up, and tried to hit the breaks-Too late.
The truck hit Rove hard, slamming into him at 66 miles per hour. Rove was thrown back, hitting the wall of the hotel before collapsing to the ground.
Immediately, there was a rush of people to the scene, many of them Bush campaign people. Bush himself was on the phone, asking what had happened. No one knew this at the time, and so the Governor was only able to listen as the people screamed and babbled in panic, as the ambulances arrived wailing.
Karl Rove was rushed to Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center, and immediately placed into surgery. After two hours, the doctor emerged with grim news-Rove was dead, the result of a bleed in his brain.
The news hit the air like a flash fire. John McCain learned of it as an aide rushed into his hotel room, saying, "Senator, you need to see this!" As McCain, his wife and senior staff watched, Mark Salter, McCain's friend, biographer and writer, remembered the Senator saying, "This changes everything."