More shake-ups at White House possible this year

BY MONDAY AFTERNOON, the big news on all the political wires was the resignation of President Bush’s Chief of Staff, Andrew Card.

President Bush himself announced Card’s replacement by current budget director Josh Bolten.

According to several news reports, Card offered his resignation to the president several weeks ago while the president decided to accept it during a weekend trip to Camp David.

The timing of Card’s decision was not at all coincidental.

If you’ll recall, three weeks ago the White House was still feeling the aftereffects of the botched Dubai ports deal – and the earliest polls out were showing the magnitude of the damage the deal did to the administration.

For the first time since September 11, 2001, polls now give Democrats a slight edge over Republicans on national security issues – a trend that began after the port deal was made public.

For his part, Card caught more than his fair share of flak over the past year. Perhaps the worst fiasco for the White House was the failed appointment of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

According to Newsweek, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert told Card in early December the White House had “blown it” with Congress after the Miers mess and the failed attempt to reform Social Security in early 2005.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Andy Card was a bad chief of staff. I have no idea what kind of leader he is, but he’s said to be well liked by his staff, which is certainly at least a partial indication of his style of management.

What I can say is that the last year was a bad one for the White House – and it’s past time for heads to roll.

Just review the various missteps and outright mistakes , both politically and otherwise, the Bush Administration has been making.

That’s not to say the White House hasn’t had its share of victories. Perhaps the single biggest coup was the appointment of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The nomination of Roberts itself was carried out brilliantly by the president and his advisers, particularly when they opted to choose Roberts for Chief Justice after the death of William Rehnquist rather than for Associate Justice, where he had originally been nominated.

While the Miers nomination was a fiasco, the eventual confirmation of Samuel Alito, a justice likely to be the most conservative in recent memory, turned out well for the administration and its allies on the far right.

Yet at the same time, the drumbeat of bad news shows no sign of subsiding for the White House and Card’s resignation is a sign that officials are concerned.

The president’s approval ratings appear stuck around 35 percent. This is primarily tied to the ongoing strife in Iraq and a loss of public patience for ongoing bloodshed with no end in sight.

Remember that President Bush has said troops won’t be leaving Iraq in his presidency — a statement that can have a serious effect on public opinion, which has now shifted overwhelmingly in favor of a pullout.

I’m not sure how much Card’s resignation will change the way the White House operates.

It’s a step in the right direction — but it might be too little, too late. If President Bush is committed to building a better administration and having a prayer of getting his agenda through Congress, he’ll make more staffing changes.

America’s efforts in Iraq would be greatly aided by the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumseld, at least in the sense of generating more international cooperation. Rumsfeld could also be a handy whipping boy for Republicans hoping to distance themselves from bloodshed in the country.

I also wouldn’t be terribly surprised if we’re close to seeing the departure of the Vice President in favor of someone who’s hoping to get the GOP presidential nomination for 2008.

There’s another element at play as well. GOP leaders are concerned about their chances at the polls later this year and any changes being made are at least partially motivated by this pressure. How many people lose their jobs between now and November will largely be determined by how likely the Republicans think they are to losing the House and the Senate.

Comment on this story in the Opinion forum >>