Don't Let The Door Hit You on the Way Out!

It's not just Colin Powell who's taking a powder from the second Bush administration. The Wash Post is reporting that such figurative and literal heavyweights as Rod "Education" Paige, Ann "Agriculture" Veneman, and Spencer "Energy" Abraham are joing the mass exodus of B-list celebrites leaving for Canada, Ireland, and other non-medieval countries.

Or maybe it just means that cabinet secretaries are being held to the same time limits as other welfare recipients.

Whole Post bit here.

If Bush wants to make a bold play for history, he should consider not filling the Education, Agriculture, and Energy slots. Or he could pull a page from John Kerry (remember him?) and "meld" the Ag and Labor departments like Kirk and Spock in countless episodes of slash fiction.

Comments

[digamma]

If Bush wants to make a bold play for history, he should consider not filling the Education, Agriculture, and Energy slots.

If Bush wants to make a bold play for history, he'll start two or three more wars.

[Ken Shultz]

At the very least, he might consider not filling Commerce. What's the alleged purpose of the that Department again?

[Nick Dubaz]

It's a shame that Colin Powell is resigning. Over the past year I have had dinner with several ambassadors in Africa and here in the U.S. and to a man they all name Sec. Powell as the best Sec. of State they have ever served under. It's difficult to judge his diplomatic acumen in the muddied cloud of this administration's international relations, but he was most certainly effective in improving the horrible management and personnel conditions within the State Department.

[Lewis]

If Bush wants to make a bold play for history, he'll start two or three more wars.

And pass a couple more tax cuts, end the inheritance tax, reduce the capital gains tax, and further increase corporate subsidies.

[Jason Bourne]

Whether he filled those posts or not the Departments would continue ahead full steam with the Assistant Secretaries, other political appointees and the career staff. So you are right, it would be a "gesture."

[Brian]

Powell is about the only major figure in the Bush administration who seems reality based, at least to some extent. So he had to go. I suppose he'll get replaced by a hack whose first priority will be to do a loyalty purge like is going on at the "hotbed of liberals" CIA at moment.

Other than coordinating subsidies and handouts with the industries they regulate, what do all those other secretaries even do? (Ok, that was kind of a loaded question).

[Call me snake]

Right, Brian, I get it....Joe Wilson for State!!!

[kwais]

Lewis,
I was with you until the corporate subsidies part. Now if he completely did away with corporate subsidies, and all the tax cut stuff, he'd be the man.

[Hans]

Word is that Powell will likely be replaced by Condoleezza Rice.

Color me unimpressed.

[Call me snake]

Hans,

Color you unimpressed?

Color me Badd!!

[Lewis]

Now if he completely did away with corporate subsidies, and all the tax cut stuff, he'd be the man.

Kwais,
Subsidies is what his corporate base paid him for. If he did away with them, I would agree that he would be da man. But I am not holding my breath.

[Rick Barton]

If Bush wants to make a bold play for history, he should consider not filling the Education, Agriculture, and Energy slots.

That sounds wonderful, so does finding some incredibly rare fossil in my back yard which I'm able to sell for millions of dollars, or having a meteorite land in my back yard and...

Bush not filling these slots would be to assume that he might actually enjoy reading free market treatises or maybe that he was a libertarian or maybe a conservative (remember, pre-Bush, when there was always a plank in the GOP platform to abolish the Dept. of Education?).

The departments of Ed. and Energy clearly harm education and energy production. And, they are a component of the runaway spending that has to be cut! But, the best we can hope for now is to cut their budgets. The "meld" sound like it might be worth a try as well. Come on Pres. Bush, do something for liberty.

We can contact our congress people and senators and tell them of our desires:

http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

[DavePotts]

"Or maybe it just means that cabinet secretaries are being held to the same time limits as other welfare recipients."

Excellent, Mr. Gillespie! I think I peed my pants...

[joe]

At least Abraham was qualified to head Energy, and Venneman qualified to head Ag - as much as I disagree with their views.

Rod Paige is a dimwit, whose entire reputation is based on a study of House dropouts rates that was based on fudged data.

The next time a Republican gets self-righteous about "quotas," throw Rod Paige in his face.

[Syd]

"Word is that Powell will likely be replaced by Condoleezza Rice. "

Alternate word is she doesn't want the job because she doesn't like the ceremonial duties.

[JD]

I think that dissolving the Dept. of Ed. would be a great thing, and it's also one of the most plausible things that the President could do to roll back the scope of the federal government, or at least demonstrate some commitment to doing so. The DoEd has only been in existence for 24 years, so it's not yet so entrenched as many other agencies.

That said, politically I think it's not going to happen. You know exactly how the Democrats would spin it. First, they would fall to their knees and thank God for this opportunity. Then they'd get back up and scream about how this shows that the Republicans don't care if kids get an education, the Republicans are the party of the rich, etc. The Republicans - and Bush in particular, after running on the idea of being a "compassionate conservative" - are not going to let that happen. Other people here have pointed out exactly what "compassionate conservative" means: it means that he's going to keep funding every social program in existence while he pursues a hawkish foreign policy.

Same goes for Ag and Energy, I think, although perhaps for slightly different reasons. Ag is too old (1862!) and probably too politically entrenched. Remember where the agricultural belt of America is? Remember where the Red states are? As for Energy, that's the only one I could maybe see going away, but given the current focus on "homeland security" and the fact that the DoE is responsible for nuclear facility security, I doubt it.

[andy]

If you people think that Bush would consider reducing the size of the Federal government, you haven't been around the past four years.

[Mr. Sun]

Career advice for Colin Powell.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Maybe Bush can appoint Kerry Ambassador to Massachusetts.