WP: Card's Departure Seen as a Sign President Hears Words of Critics

[kskiska]

Wednesday, March 29, 2006; A01

A few weeks ago, President Bush's spokesman dismissed talk of an impending staff change as "inside Washington babble."

White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.'s resignation yesterday suggests that Bush was listening.

Through one full term and the first year of the second, a signature of this administration was the indifference -- even contempt -- it showed for the capital's political and media culture, and for the endless flow of commentary and unsolicited advice that its inhabitants deliver daily to all presidents.

Bush, his advisers say, has by no means changed his view of what he derisively calls the "chattering class." But the Card move is only the latest sign that -- with his presidency under the stress of low public approval ratings, an unpopular war and a stalled legislative agenda -- Bush is more often deferring to the expectations of Washington conventional wisdom.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/28/AR2006032801806.html

[Writer]

1. This is a sales job. n/t

[lumpy]

28. And no one here is buying it.

As part of the 'chattering class',nothing short of Bush retiring will change a thing. Bush is arrogant to the point of being criminal.

[KittyWampus]

32. the entire Bush presidency has been a sales job from beginning

to end.

[NanceGreggs]

2. President Hears Words of Critics

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


Yeah, 'cause the NEW guy is so DIFFERENT than the old guy!

[Lisa]

3. it's like that old Far Side cartoon -- "Ginger mumble mumble mumble"

What Bush hears is: "The President mumble mumble mumble ... President Bush mumble ... good job mumble mumble" (whether or not the person actually said that he was doing a good job!).

[radfringe]

19. out with the old croney

in with another old croney

well - I see it more like rearranging deck chairs on the titanic

[coalition_unwilling]

30. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss (eom)

[0007]

31. When the titanic goes through a foggy patch, one will hear a splash,

and one may ask, "what was that?" Hear this, hear this, this is your captain speaking, Donald Rumsfeld just fell off the ship.

[Jack Rabbit]

4. Sure it does

It does in the same MSM that gave far too much credence to his pre-war horsepucky three years ago.

[stumblnrose]

5. Thank you Jim VandeWhore

eom

[Roland99]

6. Or it's a sign of coming indictments....

(crossing fingers)

[NanceGreggs]

9. That was my first thought when I heard the news ...

... seems that someone always needs to spend more time with their family just before a new pile of shit is about to come into contact with the proverbial fan ...

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. This is pretty naive stuff, even for WP.

[barb162]

8. Sen Dick Durbin said today Card 's the only one who tells the

truth in the White House

[Dulcinea]

23. No wonder he was the one to go.

Boy George prefers sycophants & flatterers.

[cosmicdot]

34. Dear Sen. Durbin: what about Card's comments re Medicare Rx?

just as an example ...


on Medicare Rx, c. January 2006

"phenomenal registration drive..."

"filling out about 45 million prescriptions a day..."

"correspondence coming into the White House....We're getting, 'It's WORKING. I saved 15 percent. I saved 25 percent. I saved 30 percent.'"

"So we think the buzz around America is going to be increasingly good about the benefits that come through Medicare prescription drug coverage."


misc.

"the fiscal discipline that has come through this Administration over the last 5 years is unprecedented"....

"honest cut" in the Budget...."not another Administration in modern times can say that..."

~snip~

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/12/15543/5373


or is it the comparative size, depth and breadth of Card's 'truth-telling' compared to Cheney, Rice, Rumsfelt, Bu$h, etc.?

or, perhaps Sen. Durbin is suggesting that Card is the most revealing about the White House:

"He gets up and starts pacing the cobalt-blue wall-to-wall, kneading his hands. … 'This, you know, will be seen as one of those crossroads, a moment of causation, and everything after this will be prefaced by After Karen Hughes left''. Then he stops. He sees it clearly, and it's very personal. 'She's leaving when the president has one of the highest approval ratings on record. From here, it can only go down. And when it does, you know who they're going to blame'. He taps his chest. 'They're gonna blame Andy Card!'"

or that he stretches the truth about certain individuals to help perpetuate the Media Creation Lie which is GWBu$h ... 'PR' isn't lying, is it?:

"Karl is a very strong leader, who has served the president very well and will continue to serve the president well. Karen has a very strong personality, and she's served the president well. Karen's hole will be difficult to fill, and we can fill it because they're outstanding people, and Karen will continue to be involved in the success of this presidency."

http://www.slate.com/?id=2066689


Will he tell us truthfully what he whispered in Bu$h's ear?


of course, when fishing for truth and honesty in a cesspool ... maybe Card stands out above his peers


if he's indicted, let's sure hope he tells 'the revealing truth'; and, WHIG out big time!


I wonder if ever wishes he had actually used his Engineering degree to be an engineer.

[Rose Siding]

10. Classic abuse syndrome

Amidst insults, VandeHei asserts a flattering theory that bush advisors within his own piece deny-

Bush, his advisers say, has by no means changed his view of what he derisively calls the "chattering class."

[anotherdrew]

11. what does bush have to do with it? card quit all on his own....

one too many coffee runs...

[HuffleClaw]

12. bwhhahahaaha what SPIN ! ! !

what a crock. card was SHOVED out the door, the result of a rove power struggle. its not really a big secret.

[Elidor]

13. See? We get prizes the lower his approval rating goes!

It's like some strange kind of dictator bingo. At 30% approval, Rumsfeld is out the door. At 25%, Cheney's head will roll. 20% would probably give us Rice, and at 15% Rove will be made to walk the plank. Play along at home, it's fun!

[pinto]

14. BS. Andy was expendable. This is no "shake up" by any means.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

15. Yeah, right. Then replaces him with that dweeb Josh Bolton.

[951-Riverside]

16. I don't remember ANYONE giving a shit about Andy Card

Hell I barely know who he is OTOH we always hear or discuss Condi, Rummy, Cheney, Karl Rove and they are still around the washington post headline is bullshit.

[jaysunb]

17. Horse feathers !

just more distraction.....

[Mythsaje]

18. Isn't the White House Chief of Staff

something like a glorified head butler?

Like his leaving has any effect on anything important?

[0rganism]

20. "Seen as a Sign"? Hah! Only fools would buy that bullshit

and only shameless opportunists and media whores would sell it.

[regnaD kciN]

21. Just another demonstration of Bush's one-way "loyalty"...

...namely, demand unswerving fealty from everyone around oneself, while being ready to toss any one of them under the wheels for political gain at any time.

:puke:

[sofa king]

22. What kind of horseshit is this?

Look at the very first sentence of that god damned article.

A few weeks ago, President Bush's spokesman dismissed talk of an impending staff change as "inside Washington babble."

What a coincidence! A few weeks ago was also when Andrew Card submitted his resignation. Which seems to indicate--try not to be shocked--that Scottie McClellan was lying to the press again. So yet another lie from Scott McClellan somehow shines light on a deeper inner truth, eh? How about the fact that they're all a bunch of fucking criminals?

The entire article falsely implies that somehow the Card resignation is related to the White House actually paying attention to what its citizens want or think for the first time.

I think that's bullshit, too. I think Andy Card is resigning now so that he doesn't have to this Friday when Patrick Fitzgerald indicts him in the Plame case. The White House wants its citizens to be thinking about anything else but that.

I've been reading Jim VandeHei's analyses in the WP for some time now, but this one could have been done by a fluffer on a porno movie set. Shame on you, Jim.

(edit: I told Jim VandeHei just as much, too, except the part about him being a fluffer on a porno movie set. You can email him by clicking on his name below the headline.)

[salin]

24. er... didn't "critics" want an outsider of stature to come in?

Ala Howard Baker? Josh Bolten doesn't play that role.

[still_one]

25. bull, this is a distraction

otherwise rumsfeld and cheney would be gone

[rodeodance]

26. and the media repeatly used words like 'shake-up'! Mice will believe it.

[NastyRiffraff]

27. He hears the steady footsteps of Fitz & his staff...

Relentlessly moving towards the WH.

As for Andy Card, the buildup for this has been going on for weeks. He's been used over and over again as an example of "overwork" and "burnout" in the WH staff. So no one should be surprised at his resignation.

[jwirr]

29. If he heard the words of critics he would fire his entire staff and

VP and then resign.

[cosmicdot]

33. "you don't introduce a new product in August"

is March good, Andy?