Bush and the bureaucracy: a crusade for control

[The Straight Story]

Bush and the bureaucracy: a crusade for control
By Paul Singer, National Journal
[email protected]

Two weeks before George W. Bush's 2001 inauguration, the Heritage Foundation issued a paper offering the new president advice on "taking charge of federal personnel."

The authors -- two former officials at the Office of Personnel Management and a former congressional staffer who is now at OPM -- laid out an ambitious agenda to overhaul civil service rules and "reassert managerial control of government." The paper emphasized the importance of appointing strong leaders to key government positions and holding bureaucrats "personally accountable for achievement of the president's election-endorsed and value-defined program."

Reminded of this paper recently, co-author Robert Moffit, who has moved on to other issues at Heritage, dusted off a copy and called a reporter back with a hint of rejoicing in his voice. "They apparently are really doing this stuff," he said.

To Moffit and other proponents of strong management, the Bush White House has indeed initiated a dramatic transformation of the federal bureaucracy, trying to create a leaner, more results-oriented government that can better account for taxpayer dollars. Reshaping the agenda of government to match the president's priorities is the purpose of democratic elections, Moffit said.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0305/032505nj1.htm

[jokerman93]

1. Apparently...

"Reshaping the agenda of government to match the president's priorities is the purpose of democratic elections"

apparently it's the purpose of stolen democratic elections as well. *sigh*