November 15, 2004
CONDI'S CHOICE:
Four Bush Cabinet members resign (GovExec, 11/15/04)
The expected turnover in President Bush's second-term Cabinet kicked into high gear Monday, with news that four top officials had decided to leave their posts.Secretary of State Colin Powell submitted his resignation on Friday and announced it to his staff on Monday, a State Department official told Reuters news service.
Various other news services reported that Agriculture Secretary Anne Veneman, Education Secretary Spencer Abraham and Education Secretary Rod Paige had also told President Bush of their intentions to leave the administration.
Hilarious moment on Diane Rehm today, as Leon Panetta, Nancy Pelosi and Susan Page all agreed that Paul Wolfowitz would be too controversial for Sectretary of State because he's a neocon, but Jack Danforth, who they didn't even note is a theocon and an ordained minister, would sail through. Any other Western country where the guy who pursues an expressly Christian foreign policy is the easier sell? Posted by Orrin Judd at November 15, 2004 11:07 AM
Dr. Rice can have her pick of Agriculture, Education, or Energy !?
Woo - Hoo.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at November 15, 2004 11:21 AMDanforth has the rep of bipartisan experienced politician that reduces the opposition to him. He seems to have the credentials but will he go into State and clean it out which Powell didn't do?
As for Agriculture another dept that should be closed or merged into Labor/Commerce.
Posted by: AWW at November 15, 2004 11:36 AMCondi for SecState!
Posted by: Mike Morley at November 15, 2004 11:55 AMBB - You have a devilish mind. He should be given serious consideration.
Posted by: curt at November 15, 2004 12:40 PMWolfie should get State but won't. You just gotta love the balance on that panel though. Is Susan Page an Italian from Northern California too?
Powell's departure can't happen too quickly for me. Maybe he can take his son with him. The others appear to have been ciphers, easily replaced by party hacks from the relevant constituencies. Abraham is by far the biggest disappointment.
If he thinks that he has a political career back in Michigan when he was sitting on his copious derriere at Energy for four years while oil prices more than doubled, he's delusional.
Posted by: Bart at November 15, 2004 12:51 PMThe great thing about these resignations is that Bush has an opportunity to create potentially powerful senate/governor/congressional candidates from essentially thin air, a la Mel Martinez.
Or, in Condi's case, presidential candidates.
Posted by: Timothy at November 15, 2004 1:11 PMTimothy:
Don't be too sure about Condi Rice becoming a great presidential candidate. We don't know where she stands on domestic, social issues: abortion, gay rights, etc.
Posted by: Vince at November 15, 2004 1:53 PMAh, but to the left, Wolfowitz is one of those dangerous Jewish neocon imperialist warmongers. (I've heard that the BBC pronounces his name with a heavy German accent: "VUHL-fo-vitz".) So Danforth must look like a good compromise.
Posted by: PapayaSF at November 15, 2004 1:59 PMSince we are voting on this board, I vote for Danforth. I'd get a kick out of Mullahs having to deal with a Christian minister.
Regarding whether he is a theocon or not, I doubt that he is. Actually I'm not even sure what a theocon is, but we can pretend he is just to irritate the Islamist.
Posted by: h-man at November 15, 2004 2:50 PMGiven the kerfuffle going on right now about Porter Goss' shake-up efforts at the CIA, it would be fun just to see the reaction of the media and the career bureaucrats if Bush nominated Rudy Giulinai as Secretary of State.
Posted by: John at November 15, 2004 3:06 PMIsn't Wolfowitz a theocon -- just a Jewish theocon?
Posted by: pj at November 15, 2004 3:51 PMpj,
I don't think so, from my understanding his eating habits are as treif as mine.
Posted by: Bart at November 15, 2004 4:00 PMpj:
No. The Straussians generally assume religion a useful fiction. It makes their philosophy pretty dubious.
Posted by: oj at November 15, 2004 5:19 PMIt's more or less official: Condi is to replace Colin at Foggy Bottom.
Posted by: Joe at November 15, 2004 7:18 PMVince:
That stuff may be irrelevant to a Rice candidacy, as it would be to a Schwarzenegger candidacy.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at November 16, 2004 12:34 AMMichael:
If Condi Rice is pro-choice, she will have a lot of trouble winning southern states. The fact that she is a black woman won't help.
Posted by: Vince at November 16, 2004 1:44 PM