They can't bring in anyone new, because they have to keep a lid on their inside information about how bad this president really is.

"who must be given credit for much of Bush's political success"

Was this meant sarcastically?

Who will W go to to get his burgers now?

Ben...while I sometimes want to join the many critics of the Bush administration in a skeptical assessment of their performance, the fact is that Bush has blown through any credible opposition from disorganized Democrats and moderate Republicans. His numbers are extremely low right now -- but he's had one of the longest honeymoons of any President in history. He's still strong, when he should be weak. I don't like the direction Bush has taken the country, but at the same time, I have to be realistic about the fact that he has been successful politically. If his opponents can't see that and can't turn that around, then this Rove Machine won't be beaten back.

Steve Clemons

I'd credit Rove's iron fist and, obviously, 9/11 for that - but then Card is very much a low key player and you're probably better placed to judge these things than I am..

In the style of the Hollywood 3-deaths-in-a-row myth, care to name your best guesses for the next 2 out the door?

Ben - The next ones out the door should be Rumsfeld and perhaps Rove....but while I think that there might be a chance Rove will be moved (contrary to nearly all watchers), Rumsfeld looks so well dug in. I hope they do dump Rumsfeld, as he and Cheney are responsible for so much.

I have no idea who's next -- as the Admin should have pushed Rumsfeld out first but lacks the stomach and guts to take Rumsfeld on. Rove is there caught in the Fitzgerald web -- so he'd be good to dump, but Bush is remaining temporarily loyal.

But I can't guess really as to who Bush will next lean on....but there should be more. Andy Card alone is not enough.

Steve Clemons

"My source told me that Barbara was about to "pull a Nancy Reagan" on these attendants."

Prescient..

Andy Card alone certainly isn't enough - I'd banish the entire GOP to the wrong side of the Potomac, personally, but that's just me. I only started watching US politics a few years ago so I have precisely zero respect for any Republican - and certainly zero confidence in their competence.

I guess you could make an argument that Card was the second shoe to drop, with Gale Norton being the first. If I was to pick another for a three-legged man, I'd guess Scottie. They'd pick up a few month "honeymoon" period from the press as the new person was allowed to get up to speed.

Nah, nah, nah, nah...nah, nah, nah, nah...hey, hey, hey...goodbye Andy! Please don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out. Speaking of 9/11/01, why didn't the Secret Service hustle our incoherent President directly out of that Florida classroom upside down book and all on that horrific morning? Where is the resignation of Scotty 'the no-boy' McClellan? Where is the criminal indictment of say Don Rumsfeld? Where is the accountability or oversight if you will, from America's Congress? Could it possibly be that, America's Congress has sold the oversight function to some special interest corporate concern? Mercy, Congress will turn just about any nasty trick for a buck!

Mr. Clemons, hello, and an interesting site you have. I found you via your post over on Huffington. I also posted a comment there...but not sure how long it will take to show up. So...I'll ask the same question here, briefly, and pardon my ignorance, but what exactly does a chief of staff do? I have an image of the position being a "super-secretary" role...but I must be wrong? I thought Rove and a few others crafted/shaped policy...but Card did that? I'm just confused as to the duties of the position. Thanks, and I'll look around your site. Good luck out there.

The Secret Service's sluggishness on that day has always bothered me too - anyone know at what time Cheney was "physically lifted" and dragged out of wherever he was?

There's a large commercial airport literally a dozen miles from that school, and his visit was pre-announced. You've got to assume that the SS had as much info as the 08/06 PDB regarding UBL's determination to attack on the mainland, and it doesn't take a genius to string together the 93 WTC bombing, a highly unlikely plane/WTC collision and the fact that you're at a pre-announced venue not 12 miles from an airport. Yet it was 23 minutes (at least) before he even stood up!

Back on topic, I'll modify my statement regarding Republicans - I have a small amount of faith in the competence and patriotism of any Republican to have been sacked by this administration, Heckuvajob excluded.

Well, that's that. And we know it's all good because W listens to his mother and his father above.

A good description (and note the "current CoS" picture top right - gotta love the wiki)

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Chief_of_Staff"

Stupid link killing commenty things

Seeing this morning so much of the Andy Card photo telling Bush on 9/11 that the WTC had been struck -- and then Card NOT having Bush quickly ushered out of the school and to a safe location -- leads me (and now many, many Americans) to think the White House knew EXACTLY what 9/11 was all about.

Was Andy Card serving our president so well knowing that the WTC had been struck twice and Bush sits there for minutes with a blank stare on his face in Florida? Or did Card -- and King George -- know that the "terrorists'" plan magically didn't include going after King George??

Add to that what Bush told school children 6 weeks after 9/11 that he ". . .had seen on a tv monitor that the WTC had been struck by an airplane. . ." BEFORE he went out to talk to the Florida school kids on that fateful morning, and then now the over-exposed photo of Card leaning over Bush and telling him of a second hit at WTC -- how the h*ll did the Bush people see the first hit? No media was present AT ALL to capture the first plane's strike!!

Did King George's secret service just by chance have some random camera focused on WTC that morning??

If people still believe the official fed story of 9/11 -- I've got swamp land in Florida for sale.

Bush's House of Card(s) is falling down!

So far this looks like musical deck chairs. Insider #1 is replaced by Insider # 2, whose old job then goes to someone who will be kept outside the Sacred Circle. GWB gets a bit of good press for "shaking things up," while all that's really happened is that the bubble got a bit smaller. A Rove departure and/or Hughes return would of course be more significant, but I'll believe those things when I see them.

The story above reads as if one day Card's the chief of staff and the next day he's not.

Isn't there a lot of unfinished business he can't walk away from? Evidently, he presided over a mountain of illegal activity, including some attempted e-mail scrubbing after a phone call from Gonzales.

There should be a whole lot of folks saying, "Wait a minute, Andy. I need to talk to you."

Question for every member of the administration, every day, regardless of the answer: Does Karl Rove still have a security clearance?

I would think that this is almost a relief for Andrew Card. Not much of a 'shake-up'.

I was really surprised to hear Fred Barnes call for Dick Cheney's resignation. While I'd be really surprised if that move actually happened, it looks like the Republican elite is calling for a lot of changes.

Ben, use traditional html, as in:
<a html="http://wwww.somewhere.com">Dons Blog </a>

Steve:

For those asking, here's one link to the timeline on the morning of 9/11/01 which shows Andy Card and the (complicit?) King George.

http://thewebfairy.com/killtown/bush.html

I would imagine Card is happy to be gone from the mess at the WH. That leaves Cheney and Rove, and with Rove squealing on Cheney now, the question is --did Rove get off and think he has even more power (by outing Deadeye) or does Fitz have something up his sleeve for Karl?

This shake-up runs over the Bush/Blair news that they KNEW SADDAM HAD NO WMDs before they went into their illegal war. People are forgetting that with this shake-up. How many lives lost or maimed and how much debt does the U.S. need to suffer along with the world hating us for Bush's lies and his greedy personal agendas?

imho, card's departure is strictly cosmetic, designed to offer the appearance of change without making any fundamental change... the ones who should really be the ones to go are still around... maybe there are more changes in the offing but color me highly skeptical...

http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/

from -- http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011204-17.html

On the morning of Sept. 11, while at a school in Sarasota Florida, President George W. Bush is told of the 2nd attack on New York City.

"And I was sitting in the classroom, and Andy Card, my Chief of Staff, who is sitting over here, walked in and said, "A second plane has hit the tower, America is under attack." -Bush 12/04/01

I agree with Steve: Bush needs to fire Rumsfeld and substantially demote Cheney. Both can be done without Bush having to admit what a liability both have become. Cheney's demotion can occur totally behind the scenes: His staff gets chopped; his independant portfolio curtailed. Rumsfeld can decide "to spend time with" his family--the old Washington exit line. And why wouldn't it be believable? He's had a tenure longer than most Defense Secretaries and he is old. Both are do-able...if Bush has the character to do it. I'm not holding my breath.

this way he can be "former" chief of staff when he's indicted

Haven't read the whole thread, so maybe someone has already suggested this:

I look for the "not so bright but always loyal" Card to turn up as Sec Treasury before long. This is the job he has always wanted.

Imagine going from Robert Rubin to Andrew Card! Sound too horrible to contemplate? With Bush, it would be about right.

It is clear from the INACTION of the Secret Service on 9/11 that they KNEW FOR A FACT THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS NOT A TARGET OF ONE OF THE HIJACKED PLANES.

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/9-11secretservice.html

The first plane hit at 8:46, before the president even got to the school. The FAA has a direct line to the Secret Service. At that point, the FAA suspected at least 8 planes might have been hijacked. The President claims he saw the first plane hit when video of that crash was not released for at least another 12 hours. How convenient for Bush that he was out of loop to make important decisions about our national security in order to, at the very least, MITIGATE the effects of the attacks. Bush and his Secret Service were so sure that the President of the United States was not a target that day, that they were willing to risk the lives of all those school children for a petty photo-op. Now who's the conspiracy theorist.

9/11 was an inside job!

from www.salon.com --

"The man Bush has chosen as his new chief of staff? As Think Progress notes, Bolten has presided over a $1.8 trillion increase in the federal debt in just 24 months as the president's budget director.

To be fair, the Washington Post notes that Bolten has overseen two consecutive budgets that cut overall nonsecurity discretionary domestic spending. But that's a little like congratulating yourself for clipping coupons for groceries while dropping 100 grand on an adventure vacation and a new Hummer: Between Bush's tax cuts and the war in Iraq, cuts in nonsecurity discretionary domestic spending aren't enough to keep the books balanced.

There is this to like about Bolten, however: When Dick Cheney started handing out orders to shoot down a jetliner on 9/11, it was Bolten who had the nerve to suggest that he "confirm" his authority to do so with the president first."

a very interesting link here at --
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5251871/site/newsweek/

Isn't there a lot of unfinished business he can't walk away from?

He's not leaving until April 14. Plenty of time to bring the new guy up to speed on where to deep-six the hidden e-mails.

Isn't Bolten the one who lied about how much the Medicare Prescription Drug bill was going to cost? Seems like a great choice to replace Andy "You don't roll out a new product in August" Card (referring to Andy's explanation as to why the Administration waited until September, 2002, to ramp up the "fear of a mushroom cloud" baloney about Iraq.