Andy Card Resigns!!!!!
I would assume you've already seen this by the time you get here, but the WaPo is reporting that Andy Card will resign to be replaced by Joshua Bolten.
Will this shakeup make any real difference? Is the problem in this White House really just a lack of coordination at the Chief of Staff level, or is it a failure at the Rove/Cheney policy making level? And notice that they didn't bring in the "old greybeard" that many outside the administration were calling for. This tells me that the Rove/Cheney axis will not be challenged.
(and, by the way, Mr. Bush, you accept Andy Card's resignation on the first go, but not Rumsfeld's repeated offers to step aside?)
Shifting deckchairs on the Titanic.
I'll also be curious to see what stories are buried beneath this today. The Iraqis telling the US to get out of Baghdad? The Shia politicians pulling out of negotiations on a new government? Or maybe it's the next round of NSA hearings taking place today. There's a reason that the Card announcement is taking place today.
Later: I watched a little of the Card press conference, and as he began to tear up, I wondered, was he pushed?
ALSO: Bush is quietly meeting with media figures off the record. I'm not sure on the ethics of this. On the one hand, it does allow a greater understanding by the media figures of Bush's thinking. On the other hand, the efforts at influencing their reporting are quite obvious. I wonder if they got nice parting gifts?
Will this shakeup make any real difference? Is the problem in this White House really just a lack of coordination at the Chief of Staff level, or is it a failure at the Rove/Cheney policy making level? And notice that they didn't bring in the "old greybeard" that many outside the administration were calling for. This tells me that the Rove/Cheney axis will not be challenged.
(and, by the way, Mr. Bush, you accept Andy Card's resignation on the first go, but not Rumsfeld's repeated offers to step aside?)
Shifting deckchairs on the Titanic.
I'll also be curious to see what stories are buried beneath this today. The Iraqis telling the US to get out of Baghdad? The Shia politicians pulling out of negotiations on a new government? Or maybe it's the next round of NSA hearings taking place today. There's a reason that the Card announcement is taking place today.
Later: I watched a little of the Card press conference, and as he began to tear up, I wondered, was he pushed?
ALSO: Bush is quietly meeting with media figures off the record. I'm not sure on the ethics of this. On the one hand, it does allow a greater understanding by the media figures of Bush's thinking. On the other hand, the efforts at influencing their reporting are quite obvious. I wonder if they got nice parting gifts?
posted by mikevotes at
7:46 AM
5 Comments:
Nice take on the Card resignation.
By the way, I like your blog. I'll be linking to it, and look forward to reading it.
By
Lynn, at 9:36 AM
Cool lynn, thanks. I will happily reciprocate.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 10:15 AM
"Shifting deckchairs on the Titanic."
This was my reaction as well... and yes, Card was pushed.
RE: off the record...
Isn't this the opposite of journalism? It's one thing to do "off the record" interviews in order to expose the dark deeds of the powerful and rich, but this is just capitulation.
By
-epm, at 10:57 AM
Shifting deck chairs on the Titanic is the perfect way to describe this.
By
Handsome B. Wonderful, at 10:59 AM
epm,
I'm really mixed on the ethics of off the record meetings. I recognize that they are rife with conflicts but at the same time, they do offer a unique opportunity. How valuable would it have been to have McNamara trying to explain his thinking during Vietnam?
I do think they should be reported/recorded, and a "general characterization" should be made, but I think it all comes down to the ethics of the reporters involved.
There will always be questions of influence coming out of something like this.
But, I'm not an expert on ethics, and, as I can see how it would develop conflicts, I'm more than willing to entertain the argument from the other side.
It should certainly be disclosed so that future articles by these jouranlists can be judged in context.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 11:31 AM
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