Sinking ship to lose several more rats

August 16, 2007

The AP, noting the president’s dwindling hopes of enacting any kind of agenda, described the landscape fairly well today: “[Bush’s] strength is sapped by an unpopular war, Democrats are running Congress, and the 2008 presidential election is in full roar, distracting attention from the president’s priorities. With dwindling options, Bush has decided he might get more done in his final months by going it alone.”

At this rate, Bush may not have a choice but to “go it alone”; there won’t be anyone left at the White House. Tony Snow told conservative media personality Hugh Hewitt that he’ll be stepping down in the not-too-distant future — and he won’t be alone.

HEWITT: Are there any other resignations upcoming, Tony Snow?

SNOW: I think that probably…as Josh said the other day, he thinks there are probably a couple coming up in the next month or so….

HEWITT: Your intention to go the distance, Tony Snow?

SNOW: No, I’m not going to be…I’ve already made it clear I’m not going to be able to go the distance, but that’s primarily for financial reasons. I’ve told people when my money runs out, then I’ve got to go.

It’s worth noting, by the way, that Tony Snow feels compelled to leave his White House job, which pays him $168,000 with a sweet benefits package, because he’s running out of money. If a guy can’t get by on $168,000, the economy can’t be that good.

Looking at the big picture, however, it’s worth noting that it is not at all unusual for a White House to undergo major staffing changes shortly before the end of a second term, but the Bush gang is hemorrhaging staff with about 15 months to go.

ThinkProgress did a nice job coming up with a list of recently-announced resignations, including White House Senior Political Adviser Karl Rove, White House Counselor Dan Bartlett, White House Political Director Sara Taylor, and White House Director of Strategic Initiatives Pete Wehner.

What’s more, let’s not forget the cabinet. Bush has already lost two members of his cabinet since the election — Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson — and Bob Novak reported recently that “there are a number of [other] cabinet members who would like to leave.”

If he looks like a lame duck, and he quacks like a lame duck….

For what it’s worth, John Podesta, Bill Clinton’s final chief of staff, has some advice for keeping Bush focused on getting something done before leaving office, most notably keeping a “positive and robust” agenda.

I have no idea what that might include, and I suspect Bush doesn’t either.

John Podesta and Burlington’s mayor Bob Kiss have been close friends for 30 years. I think that says a lot for Podesta.

  • Wow, I had no idea of the sacrifices Tony Snow was willing to make to serve his country…

    Seriously? I thought his health would be the reason he’d step aside eventually.

    Is he the Mike Tyson of the Beltway? Already blown through all that FOX money too?

  • I just can’t let that pass. This lying, mendacious pig makes $186,000 a year with full benefits and then pleads poverty as his reason for quitting? Not to be uncivil or anything, but Jesus H. Christ! How do these bastards have any sway whatsoever over our country?

  • Tony’s $168k/yr isn’t even minimum wage in Richistan.

    As for Bush getting “something” done, I would suggest redeeming himself with a Dick Cheney murder-suicide.
    It would keep me positive!

  • Mr Furious wrote: “Is he the Mike Tyson of the Beltway? Already blown through all that FOX money too?”

    Hey, my guess is that an average Republican politico could spend $168k on the hookers alone… they have needs!

  • Haven’t we seen this movie before? The besieged leader, out of touch with reality losing all but his most loyal sycophantic personnel? Oh, wait. That was “Hitler: The Last Ten Days”, starring Alec Guinness. 🙂

  • Unlike the republicans have some compassion. He is not alone and the man is suffering from cancer. I am sure that his med package is taking care of the medical expenses but he is thinking of his kids, their future, their college education and what his wife needs should he not be here.

  • I didn’t realize WH staff made less than the $19,350/year we’ve determined is enough for a family of four to live on. I commend Mr. Snow’s service to country.

  • We can be sure that Fox News is holding a place for Tony Snow’s return to their fold, at a much higher salary than the pittance he’s being forced to live on right now.

    Whenever he’s ready, old Snowjob can leave his job of shilling for Bush, and return to his previous job at Fox of… shilling for Bush

  • Well, given how high on the hog Tony Snow used to live, I’m surprised the WH was able to get him over there at all. He must have really been a True Believer.

    Also re Rumsfeld’s resignation: apparently he resigned before Election Day, but the WH didn’t announce it. Makes you wonder if they could have kept the Senate if they had released his letter.

  • This is not good.

    I can’t help but think that these resignations could possibly signal an end to the internal White House struggle over Iran. Do they mean that Cheney has won and not only are the rats leaving the sinking ship, the ship is about to fire off a last grasp attempt that could take us all down.

  • Snow will stick around as long as his health allows. His comment was meant to just extort a larger “golden parachute”—which is probably parked in a Swiss bank account or some form of annuity—for his family. And who is he extorting? Murdoch, Scaife, Olin et al.

  • Snow’s a bastard, but I get what he’s saying here and I’m with Lendmeadime. The guy is unlikely to be around all that much longer, and presumably he wants to provide for his family to the fullest extent possible. Blast him for his lies, smears and bad judgment, but not for this.

  • It’s been my experience that people live up to whatever income they make – you make $30,000 a year, that’s what you spend. Make $60,000, same thing. Tony’s problem is that he had a Fox News anchor’s lifestyle, the price-tag for which had to be accommodated by a WH spokesperson’s salary – no easy thing to do.

    Which is no big deal to me, but I bet if Tony had known he would be telling the same lies to a much smaller audience, for a fraction of the money he was making before, he would have passed on the job.

  • It would be nice if the MSM would spotlight, continually, that members of this Administration routinely go to far-right media outlets, and only to far-right outlets (e.g., Hewitt, Limbaugh, O’Reilly), to be ‘interviewed.’ And how Bush routinely grants audience to same, and only same, when he has the ‘media’ visit the Oval Office.

    But I suppose doing so would spotlight the uncontestable fact that our elected officials pander only to them, and not to the rest of us.

  • ***If he looks like a lame duck, and he quacks like a lame duck….***

    This is not a lame-duck presidency we’re talking about here; it is a quadreplegic, iron-lunged-life-support, totally-lobotomized presidency—with a healthy dose of Ebola on the side. Good grief, Jesus Christ will laugh at this buffoon’s eight years in office, and quip, “Day-um—this guy makes Satan look like one of my better apostles!”

    Thus, the legacy of Bushylvania is carved into history….

  • Not to worry. There is an unlimited supply of idiots from bible school diploma mills like Regent U.

  • I hate to say it but lame ducks don’t neuter the constitution. He still appears to be getting his way more than congress.

  • I’m gonna give Tony Snow a pass here. I would imagine that the expenses for his cancer treatment have hit him hard. Yes, he has insurance, but trust me, it still costs. My wife has fought cancer for 11 years now, and the toll on our finance is crazy, even though I have about as good health insurance as you can get. And from what I have read, he has had some crazy expensive treatments.

    It’s just ironic that the most visible symbol of the GOP would have to be forced to go back to the private sector because he couldn’t afford to get sick, even with health insurance!

  • I’ll bet Condoleeza would rather be at the keyboard in a posh New Orleans cafe, but there never were posh cafes in New Orleans, and now – thanks to her boss – there is no New Orleans.

  • Perhaps cancer has caused Tony Snow’s prorities to reshuffle. When I found out I had cancer I quit my job to spend all my time with my family. Bush’s agenda may seem a lot less important now.

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