Bush Chief of Staff Resigns

Andrew Card -- the White House staffer who alerted President Bush to the events of 9-11 -- has resigned after 5.5 years as Chief of Staff. The (London) Times compares the change with the 1987 White House shake-up instituted by President Reagan post-Iran-Contra. Unlike Bush, however, Reagan brought in someone from outside the inner core (but not outside of the Party).

Card, 58, is replaced by Josh Bolten, 51, director of the Office of Management and Budget and, before politics, worked for Goldman Sachs. Fiscal conservatives may be displeased. In Orwellian-speak, the OMB director testified before Congress last year that estimates of the cost of the Medicare drug-prescription plan were "completely consistent" with the original Adminstration assertion: $400 billion over 10 years. However, immediately after passage, the price jumped more than 25%, and many in Congress asserted that they would not have voted for the measure with that price tag.

ABC (Australia) reports that Card would have set the record as longest-serving Chief of Staff had he stayed until September. As "as recently as two weeks ago" Card reportedly said he was staying. The recordholder: Sherman Adams under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A signal that this change may be insufficient: Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) says "This is not a change. They still need men and women of stature and gravitas in a number of slots." From the other side, Democratic consultant Morris L. Reid: "It's a cosmetic change, it's a botox injection."

The Chief of Staff oversees day-to-day operations in the West Wing of the White House. Some analysts have suggested Card is to blame for recent public missteps, such as the Dubai Ports deal. Others are blaming him for the fiasco that was the response to Katrina. Huh? Card was Chertoff's boss?

He may be best remembered -- after the 9-11 image -- for his 2002 candid observation about the timing of the drumbeat to war in late 2002: ''From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August."

Wonkette watches the puns. Beyond the Punchline provides an editorial cartoon. It's the "hardest job in Washington," according to Political Notio, who doesn't expect Card to "squeal."

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