ABC News was perhaps the most harsh on the selection of Bolton.
People looking for a big White House shake-up to change President Bush's political fortunes are probably going to have to keep waiting. The changing of the guard in the chief of staff's office is unlikely to fulfill those hopes.By letting Andy Card resign and replacing him with budget director Josh Bolten, Bush is replacing a quiet, nice, loyal, hard-working Washington insider with quiet, nice, loyal, hard-working Washington insider.
Another of Bush's recent problems — relations with the congressional wing of his own party — is unlikely to be fixed by this change. It is true that Bolten has some very good relationships on Capitol Hill, but so does Card.
(Editorial Opinion: It says something about the state of politics today when being a quiet, nice, loyal, hard-working Washington insider is considered a disadvantage.)
Democrats, not surprisingly, jumped into the fray quickly. Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) was widely quoted as saying, "If the White House is looking to change course, they picked the wrong person to toss overboard."
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was equally widely quoted: "The good news is the administration has finally realized it needs to change its ways, but the problems go far deeper than one staffer. Simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic by replacing Andy Card with Josh Bolten without a dramatic change in policy will not right this ship."
As for Andy Card, he leaves an interesting legacy. As my source said, "Everyone loves this guy. He's just a very nice person. In fact, he may run for governor in Massachusetts."
That's not a bad legacy after five and a half years in what James Baker, chief of staff under Ronald Reagan called "the worst job in Washington."
Article comments
1 - Baronius
Chief of Staff is a lousy job, and Card handled it without many leaks, trial balloons, or whatever. Good for him. Chief of Staff is a position that Eisenhower brought the White House from the military. A future president would be wise to get rid of it entirely.
What really struck me, though, was the ABC News piece that you linked to. It was clearly an opinion piece (more like a personal attack), but it wasn't labeled as such. Not even "analysis".
2 - Mark Schannon
You're right, but that's what network news is turning into...opinion in the guise of news. I met Card once at a dinner & he was absolutely charming and devoid of any of the arrogance or self-inflated ego that almost seems inevitable in working in the White House. But that was also his problem--the Chief of Staff has to drive policy decisions, and, according to my source, Bush wasn't keen on that & Card wasn't strong enough to force the issue.
3 - William Martin
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