Reply #28: Minor quibble about the "czars"

[csziggy]

I also thought Nixon had initiated them, but according to Wikipedia, Woodrow Wilson appointed the first czar as head of the War Industry Board during WWI. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czar_%28political_term%29#Development_of_term

The interesting thing is that until GWB, there were few appointees who got the title "czar" - after WWII, generally less than ten during each administration. GWB had 35 czars, but appointed 47 different people to the posts. Obama has increased the number of "czars" to 38, but have only appointed 8 people - the rest are held over from GWB. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._executive_branch_czars