Karl Rove was the latest, but not the last, of President Bush's inner circle of key staff, advisers and senior members of his administration to quit the White House in the past two years.
White House press secretary Tony Snow has announced he will be leaving soon, and hinted that many more will follow, despite there only being some 15 months left before the President himself leaves the West Wing.
Think Progress has compiled a list of the key Bush administration officials who have resigned :
- White House Senior Political Adviser Karl Rove
- White House Counselor Dan Bartlett
- White House Budget Director Rob Portman
- White House Counsel Harriet Miers
- White House Political Director Sara Taylor
- White House Director of Strategic Initiatives Pete Wehner
- White House Deputy National Security Adviser J.D. Crouch
- Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty
- Acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer
- Justice Department White House liaison Monica Goodling
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
- Army Secretary Francis Harvey
- Joint Chief of Staffs Chairman Peter Pace
While some, like Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, clearly had no choice but to quit, due to overwhelming public and Washington disgust at his incompetency, many others would appear to have left, or are in the process of getting out, due to a rising fear that association with the one of the worst presidents in American history will cripple future job prospects. So much for all that loyalty to the president we use to hear about.
According to this Associated Press report, Bush will spend the next 15 months ruling by decree of his controversial use of executive orders and veto power :
“Bush has decided he might get more done in his final months by going it alone."
