Hero to the right, villain to the left, Karl Rove signed his new book at Borders Saturday afternoon, attracting many more admirers than detractors.

By the time of his noon arrival, the bookstore had sold more than 300 copies of "Courage and Consequence," a memoir of Rove's years as chief adviser to President George W. Bush. A long line of purchasers awaiting the author's signature snaked through the stacks, each clutching a $30 hardcover or two.

Outside, though, about a half-dozen members of the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice stood in the windy drizzle with signs calling Rove "War Criminal" and "Architect of Death." Bill Adams, of Millersville, whose son, Sgt. Brent Adams, was killed in the Iraq War in 2005, organized the demonstration.

The first person in line for Rove's signature was James Rodgers, who was using a wheelchair. The New York City firefighter survived the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and retired to the Wakefield area. Identifying himself as a conservative Christian, he said that he thanked Rove and gave him an NYFD pin. "People like Karl Rove really stand up for us," he said.

Rove, in a brief press conference held before the three-hour signing began, said he wrote the book to draw back the curtain on a time that was both "serious and consequential," and to show how seriously the Bush administration regarded that time.

He also said he wanted to set the record straight, referring to charges that Bush lied about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to justify its invasion. Rove blamed mistaken intelligence and, in the book, faults himself for not doing more at the time to counter the impression that the president lied about WMDs.

"Whitewash," is what Adams called Rove's book. He views it as an attempt to defuse a lot of negative sentiment, improve "the way he will be recorded in history" and make money besides.

Critical of Obama
During the press conference, Rove also said President Barak Obama "blew a great opportunity" to craft a health care plan by having no Republican input. He called for pro-growth economic policies to create jobs and restraint in government spending.

Asked who on the national political scene he would like to work for next, Rove wasn't saying. The opportunity (referring to the next presidential election) is "several geologic ages" in the future, he said with a laugh, and certainly after the 2010 elections.

Rove is in the midst of a nationwide tour in support of his book, released last Tuesday. He mentioned visiting Washington County, Pa., and came here directly from an appearance in the Philadelphia area.

Most talk-show hosts and book reviewers have focused naturally on the political scenes that dominate the book, but it also reveals a lot of Rove's story: everything from his learning that he was adopted, to his development of his skills as a high-school debater, to his mother's suicide.

One review Rove didn't have to wait to see in the paper was that of his former boss. "He read the book as I went along [writing it]," Rove said.

The only objection the former president had was to Rove's account of a hunting outing that made Bush look like an "unsafe hunter," the author said with a laugh.

Young conservative
Awaiting Rove's arrival, Curtis Houck, 18, a senior at Manheim Township High School, was reading the book he'd purchased.

"I'm a young conservative," he said, "and I've always admired Karl Rove and his style of politics." (When the left uses "Rovian" as an adjective for politics, it is not meant as a compliment, however.)

The opinion editor of his school newspaper, Houck said he started following politics on his 10th birthday, Sept. 11, 2001.

"I want to make a difference and improve the lives of the American people," he said. Rove and President Bush "were able to do that, despite some mistakes."

Rove signed his book, "From one conservative to another."

Lancaster County Commissioner Dennis Stuckey, Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz and Nathan Flood, aide to state Sen. Mike Brubaker, were also in the signing line.

"I'm a staff person, Karl Rove's a staff person," Flood said, explaining his interest in the book by the man who helped catapult George W. Bush from a state political stage to a national one.

Stuckey met Rove in 2006 and was "impressed. He's a great guy, down-to-earth, very approachable." Stuckey also mentioned Rove got his start working in a courthouse, as Stuckey does.

 "I just enjoy what he has to say," said Linda Ickes, of Marietta. " I listen to Fox News all the time."

Jessica Townsley, of Elizabethtown, bought herself a copy of the book looking for "insider knowledge." Accompanying her was her father, Dan Coon, for whom she had purchased a second copy as a 50th birthday gift.

Julianne Morgan and her mother, Caroline, both of Lancaster, bought the book because they are "very interested in the state of the country right now," particularly security issues, the daughter said.

They agreed Rove has "a fine mind" and is "grounded" and "one of the more honest" people in politics.

The mother called Rove "a very good help to George Bush," and added, "hopefully, he'll stick with the political scene."

Sherry Wolfe, of Lebanon, a member of the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice, bought the book too, with money contributed by friends, she said.

"I do not approve of Mr. Rove in any way," she said, noting that a friend's son was killed in Iraq.

She got in line for a chance to express her objections to Rove and the Bush administration "politely," as he signed the book. She said she expected to auction it later in a fundraiser.

Security presence
Though Wolfe said she had no intention of disrupting the signing, Borders officials weren't taking any chances.

An imposing security guard in a blue blazer greeted customers at the door; at least two more circulated through the store before and during Rove's visit.

"Somebody this size, we don't want anybody taking a poke at the man," Michael Danilowicz, bookstore manager, said about Rove.

Danilowicz said the Borders corporate office had sent Daryl Mattson, event marketing manager, and an assistant down from New York Friday to rearrange the local store with both security and traffic flow in mind.

The presence of orderly protesters outside didn't alarm Danilowicz. "This is America," he said. "Republicans have the right to think one way; Democrats have the right to think the other way. They just need to agree to disagree."

Park City management does not allow protests on mall property, so demonstrators did not spend much time in front of the bookstore before being asked to relocate.

All went smoothly, Danilowicz reported after the event. He considered sales "great," and "the Rove people felt fantastic" about the event.

Most of the 580 copies on hand were sold, the manager said. Before leaving, Rove signed 70 leftover books that are still available at the store.