Snow flurries

One of the perils of hiring a prolific commentator to be White House Press Secretary is that they have probably said some unflattering things about their new boss. Tony Snow definitely has and Think Progress is making sure that everyone knows it. Bush felt obliged to try and defuse the situation with a little humor ...

One of the perils of hiring a prolific commentator to be White House Press Secretary is that they have probably said some unflattering things about their new boss. Tony Snow definitely has and Think Progress is making sure that everyone knows it.

One of the perils of hiring a prolific commentator to be White House Press Secretary is that they have probably said some unflattering things about their new boss. Tony Snow definitely has and Think Progress is making sure that everyone knows it.

Bush felt obliged to try and defuse the situation with a little humor at Snow’s unveiling: "For those of you who have read his columns and listened to his radio show, he sometimes has disagreed with me. I asked him about those comments, and he said, 'You should have heard what I said about the other guy.’"

But I tend to agree with the rapidly emerging Washington CW that these criticisms actually help Bush. Why? Because they show that Bush is getting out of his bubble and listening to people who didn’t grow up in Texas. It is noticeable quite how much the new Chief of Staff Josh Bolten is clipping the wings of the Texas mafia. Not only is Scott McClellan gone but Harriet Miers is now being eased towards the door rather than a seat on the Supreme Court.

An intriguing subplot here is Bolten’s own background. The man is a St. Albans, Princeton, Stanford Law, and Goldman Sachs alum. According to Time, he likes hiring people with resumes like his. Indeed, as anyone who has been to school in the last decade or so knows Goldman is the most prestigious graduate recruiter. The people they hire are, to sound like the president, succeeders who like to surround themselves with equally bright and ambitious souls. (They’re not the kind of people to believe in Buggins’ turn). So, expect any fresh faces to look more like John Roberts than Harriet Miers.

James Forsyth is assistant editor at Foreign Policy.
Read More On George W. Bush

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.