Not In The Cards

I remember on several occasions seeing Andrew Card described as one of the dimmer tools in the shed, so if anyone was going to need to resign as a face-saving maneuver for the Bush Administration, it was going to be him. He was among the longest-serving senior officials in the White House, but also possibly the least-powerful chief of staff in history, a mere consigliore to Rove's Godfather.

Still, this is probably a net positive for the White House, placating at least some of their base supporters that they understand the scope of the problem in this second term. To the extent that Josh Bolten can come in and actually assert himself, it may make a difference among those predisposed to give this President a chance. Bolten has been in the employ of this President since the beginning of his first term; the notion that he'll bring any fresh ideas is an open question. And I don't know that a "new face" is a complete cure-all for any White House, but of course it may be to the pundit class (although Juan Williams' report on NPR isn't exactly glowing). Like many decisions by this Administration, it appears to be based on image; a younger chief of staff will automatically be invigorating, despite the fact that he's been part of the senior staff all along.

Andy Card's legacy is probably as the guy who said "Hey, Harriet Miers, now THAT'S a good idea," reportedly leading the charge for the nomination while Rove was indisposed with the Plame investigation. In a way, Card has been more foregrounded in the chaos surrounding Rove and Cheney and Libby in this second term, and given what an unmitigated disaster it's been, putting him out to pasture is probably the best thing the President could have done.