White House Struggles To Fill Senior Posts

[Hissyspit]

Source: Financial Times

White House struggles to fill senior posts
By Edward Luce in Washington

Published: May 8 2007 22:06 | Last updated: May 8 2007 22:06

The Bush administration is facing growing difficulties in filling a rising number of high-level vacancies following a recent spate of senior departures.

In the last 10 days alone Mr Bush has lost four senior officials and more resignations are expected to follow. “I wouldn’t describe this as disintegration,” said one senior official. “But there are worrying large gaps opening up and it is very hard to recruit high-quality people from outside.”

Recent departures include J.D. Crouch, the deputy head of the national security council, who wants to spend more time with his family, and Randall Tobias, the head of USAID, who resigned after it was revealed that he used a call girl agency for “legal” erotic services. Mr Bush has also lost Dina Habib Powell, the administration’s most senior Arab-American, who is leaving the State Department to join the private sector, and Timothy Adams, the number three at the Treasury department.

Officials say that the flurry of departures is not unusual during the latter part of a second term and deny there are common themes driving their exits. But they come at a time when Mr Bush is having difficulty filling the new position of “war czar” to oversee the administration’s prosecution of the war in Iraq.

MORE

Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3828401e-fd89-11db-8d62-000b5df10621.html

[Demeter]

1. Okay, Call It Panic? Poison Pill? Facing Reality?

Sounds a lot like disintegration to me.

[justgamma]

2. recruit high-quality people from outside.”

That's rich. They don't want "high-quality" people. They're just running out of crooks to fill the openings.

[aquart]

3. That's okay. George doesn't want quality. He wants loyalty.

Can't find that either, I take it?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. "Wide-spread disintegration of the Bush Administration"

that would be a beautiful headline. :)

[Erika]

5. Bush will be lucky if Laura and Barney stand with him

He did everything he could do to ruin this country.

[mod mom]

6. No sweat Regent U's got another class ready to graduate into top level positions.

:sarcasm:

[Straight Shooter]

7. "Officials say flurry of departures is not unusual during the latter part of a second term"

Well, they aren't invoking the Clinton Doctrine (a/k/a "Clinton did it, too") so apparently it is unusual. I think the entire bush administration has developed a severe allergy to subpoenaes. :D

[rodeodance]

8. OK folks -hereis yor big chance-------Go for it.

te he

[Erika]

9. Running like hell. n/t

[Skittles]

13. f***ing rat bastards

you know it, Erika

[Miss Chybil]

10. recruit... "from outside."

Where are they looking, China? Oh, I get it. They can't find enough lapdogs outside the original circle of lapdogs called the Bush Administration. I'm sure Rove can handle all those jobs. He's had his nose in every one of them, anyway. Why do they need anyone else?

[Theduckno2]

11. I'd like to think they're drawing straws to see who leaves and who stays.

Short straw has to stay.

I have got to think that a short stint in the Bush Administration is hardly resume padding material.

I will quibble about "...the latter part of a second term...". This time next year would be the "latter part" and we are currently in the middle.

What else could we expect from "Cut and Rub Republicans"?

[Hissyspit]

12. .

[TexasLawyer]

14. If Bush lowers his standards enough...

the positions can be filled in a jif. That shouldn't be a very bif "if" for Chimpy.

[Silence Dogood]

15. Bush should be answering his own phone- soon nm