Rampant Cronyism

It is no surprise, really, when the Bush administration screws up. These are people who do not believe in government anyway. Although it was Bill Clinton who declared that the days of big government had come to an end, it is the Bushies who have tried to kill it off completely.

And with that attitude, who can blame Bush for appointing his buddies, their buddies, and their college roommates? Who can really be surprised that political hacks abound, and that loyalty is prized more than even a shred of competence?

This is the Michael Brown government. FEMA was not the exception, my friends.

Today, The New Republic published a piece titled "Welcome to the Hackocracy". TNR profiles 15 of the Bush hacks -- and I propose to share them with you, one per day, for the next two weeks (and a day). Here's an extract from the article -- we'll start tomorrow with number 15 on the TNR hack list...

The hackocracy, of course, reflects the virtues of its architect, George W. Bush. Like Michael Brown and lesser known hacks, the president hasn't allowed personal setbacks to stymie him. The old-fashioned values of fortitude and family have given him the strength to rebound from a doomed oil company called Arbusto, a doomed congressional candidacy, and catastrophic failures at Harken Energy.

That may be why, while cronies populate every presidency, no administration has etched the principles of hackocracy into its governing philosophy as deeply as this one. If there's an underappreciated corner of the bureaucracy to fill, it has found just the crony (or college roommate of a crony), party operative (or cousin of a party operative) to fill it.

To honor this achievement, we've drawn up a list of the 15 biggest Bush administration hacks--from the highest levels of government to the civil servant rank and file. The tnr 15 is a diverse group--from the assistant secretary of commerce who started his career by supplying Bush with Altoids to the Republican National Committee chair-turned-Veterans Affairs secretary who forgot about wounded Iraq
war vets--but they all share two things: responsibility and inexperience.

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