The Belgravia Dispatch: Card Steps Down

March 28, 2006

Card Steps Down

Particularly if this is a harbinger of more staffing changes to come, it's certainly a positive development. Regular readers doubtless know very well another key Administration player I think is ripe for a similar step-down. It's the one who recently appears to have given Karen Hughes, albeit indirectly, a D to D plus on her job performance. Even if he's right, I'd take the criticism much more seriously if he had provided a few shreds of plausible constructive suggestions as alternative approach. After all, aside from repeatedly telling us that al-Qaeda has a media committee and such, he hasn't mustered up much. Quite the contrary. He is partly responsible, via many of the policies he has personally cheer-led these past years, for why we are faring so badly in the ideological struggle against terrorism.

P.S. I was pushing for Bush to consider appointing a new Chief of Staff way back in October in the pages of this blog. This is nothing personal to Andrew Card, who strikes me as a very decent man who served his country now some five and a half years in what is doubtless one of the half dozen or so most demanding jobs in Washington. But this is an exceedingly long time period for this exhausting post, particularly in the crushing constant media cycles and ginned up 'crises' modern White Houses are subjected to it seems weekly, and so today's decision (albeit a belated one) should be welcomed. Especially, as I said, if it leads to further staffing changes.

Posted by Gregory at March 28, 2006 01:47 PM | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Maybe it's a good move. But, Bush is still promoting from within the ranks. Condi. Hadley. The Boltons.

I'm not thrilled with this. Card's been in trade rumors for most of the season, too.

Posted by: Chris at March 28, 2006 08:24 PM | Permalink to this comment

Greg,
When will you join the reality-based community?
As long as Bush is President, you cannot expect significant changes in policy direction, nor can you expect increased competence.
Bush is not Reagan, who was already senile and lacking in energy during his second term. Bush is apparently quite determined to remain involved, and will balk at attempts to direct him towards more sensible decisions. This is particularly clear in regards to Iraq, as we can see from his recent statement that troops will remain in Iraq until the next President takes office. To anyone who has watched Bush closely, it is no surprise that he will not draw down troops, regardless of developments on the ground. No different Chief of Staff will change his mind on this point.
The other problem is that aside from being personally decisive (bullheaded), Bush is a weak leader. He refuses to reign in those who are not team players, or arbitrate disputes. Most importantly, he lacks the intelligence, temperament or wisdom to choose among alternative policies. This is not a trivial matter.
As I see it, Bush's poor management of his cabint was a prime reason that Iraq turned out so badly. The turf wars over goals, strategy, troop levels, etc., ensured that the war would be fought without a clear top-level strategy.
It is quite evident from reading the accounts of the major players in the Iraq war that different agents considered the war to have different meanings, and these meanings had decidedly different imports as far as troop levels, etc. For example, Bremer and his ilk thought that Iraq was a chance to implement Chicago School policies and show their effectiveness. He claimed that instituting the flat tax in Iraq was among his most impressive accomplishments. One of the very significant decisions he made was to cancel early local elections in Iraq, and the reason was so that he could have a free hand to enact the flat tax, privatize, etc.
Obviously his values did not include a quick transition of Iraq into a free state.

Bremer is only one case of many, but I am sure that when the history of the Iraq war is written, the abysmal managerial skills of Bush will be a prime topic.

It is quite sad to see such a smart person not acknowledge the reality of Bush's monumental incompetence, and the need to remove him from office.
By the way, what is your take on the "signing statement" he appended to the latest version of the Patriot Act?

Posted by: marky at March 29, 2006 07:02 AM | Permalink to this comment

Trent Lott this morning said he wants a lot more than just this one "move".

Posted by: Chris at March 29, 2006 03:31 PM | Permalink to this comment

why do the words "deck chairs" and "Titanic" keep popping into my consciousness whenever I think about this announcement....

Posted by: p.lukasiak at March 29, 2006 05:24 PM | Permalink to this comment

why do the words "deck chairs" and "Titanic" keep popping into my consciousness whenever I think about this announcement....

Perhaps because that was Chuck Schumer's reaction to the news.

Frankly I feel much better knowing that the guy in charge of "managing" our 9 billion dollar debt (increased by 50% in just five years) is now in charge of reading news stories to Bush.

Posted by: Davebo at March 29, 2006 07:38 PM | Permalink to this comment

	« More Fukuyama \| Main \| Population Transfers Growing.... » March 28, 2006 Card Steps Down Particularly if this is a harbinger of more staffing changes to come, it's certainly a positive development. Regular readers doubtless know very well another key Administration player I think is ripe for a similar step-down. It's the one who recently appears to have given Karen Hughes, albeit indirectly, a D to D plus on her job performance. Even if he's right, I'd take the criticism much more seriously if he had provided a few shreds of plausible constructive suggestions as alternative approach. After all, aside from repeatedly telling us that al-Qaeda has a media committee and such, he hasn't mustered up much. Quite the contrary. He is partly responsible, via many of the policies he has personally cheer-led these past years, for why we are faring so badly in the ideological struggle against terrorism. P.S. I was pushing for Bush to consider appointing a new Chief of Staff way back in October in the pages of this blog. This is nothing personal to Andrew Card, who strikes me as a very decent man who served his country now some five and a half years in what is doubtless one of the half dozen or so most demanding jobs in Washington. But this is an exceedingly long time period for this exhausting post, particularly in the crushing constant media cycles and ginned up 'crises' modern White Houses are subjected to it seems weekly, and so today's decision (albeit a belated one) should be welcomed. Especially, as I said, if it leads to further staffing changes. Posted by Gregory at March 28, 2006 01:47 PM \| TrackBack (0) Comments Maybe it's a good move. But, Bush is still promoting from within the ranks. Condi. Hadley. The Boltons. I'm not thrilled with this. Card's been in trade rumors for most of the season, too. Posted by: Chris at March 28, 2006 08:24 PM \| Permalink to this comment Greg, When will you join the reality-based community? As long as Bush is President, you cannot expect significant changes in policy direction, nor can you expect increased competence. Bush is not Reagan, who was already senile and lacking in energy during his second term. Bush is apparently quite determined to remain involved, and will balk at attempts to direct him towards more sensible decisions. This is particularly clear in regards to Iraq, as we can see from his recent statement that troops will remain in Iraq until the next President takes office. To anyone who has watched Bush closely, it is no surprise that he will not draw down troops, regardless of developments on the ground. No different Chief of Staff will change his mind on this point. The other problem is that aside from being personally decisive (bullheaded), Bush is a weak leader. He refuses to reign in those who are not team players, or arbitrate disputes. Most importantly, he lacks the intelligence, temperament or wisdom to choose among alternative policies. This is not a trivial matter. As I see it, Bush's poor management of his cabint was a prime reason that Iraq turned out so badly. The turf wars over goals, strategy, troop levels, etc., ensured that the war would be fought without a clear top-level strategy. It is quite evident from reading the accounts of the major players in the Iraq war that different agents considered the war to have different meanings, and these meanings had decidedly different imports as far as troop levels, etc. For example, Bremer and his ilk thought that Iraq was a chance to implement Chicago School policies and show their effectiveness. He claimed that instituting the flat tax in Iraq was among his most impressive accomplishments. One of the very significant decisions he made was to cancel early local elections in Iraq, and the reason was so that he could have a free hand to enact the flat tax, privatize, etc. Obviously his values did not include a quick transition of Iraq into a free state. Bremer is only one case of many, but I am sure that when the history of the Iraq war is written, the abysmal managerial skills of Bush will be a prime topic. It is quite sad to see such a smart person not acknowledge the reality of Bush's monumental incompetence, and the need to remove him from office. By the way, what is your take on the "signing statement" he appended to the latest version of the Patriot Act? Posted by: marky at March 29, 2006 07:02 AM \| Permalink to this comment Trent Lott this morning said he wants a lot more than just this one "move". Posted by: Chris at March 29, 2006 03:31 PM \| Permalink to this comment why do the words "deck chairs" and "Titanic" keep popping into my consciousness whenever I think about this announcement.... Posted by: p.lukasiak at March 29, 2006 05:24 PM \| Permalink to this comment why do the words "deck chairs" and "Titanic" keep popping into my consciousness whenever I think about this announcement.... Perhaps because that was Chuck Schumer's reaction to the news. Frankly I feel much better knowing that the guy in charge of "managing" our 9 billion dollar debt (increased by 50% in just five years) is now in charge of reading news stories to Bush. Posted by: Davebo at March 29, 2006 07:38 PM \| Permalink to this comment		About Belgravia Dispatch Gregory Djerejian, an international lawyer and business executive, comments intermittently on global politics, finance & diplomacy at this site. The views expressed herein are solely his own and do not represent those of any organization. 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