Table of Organization
Swopa at Needlenose and Kevin Drum at Political Animal cover the leaked report about the Shrubbery trying to create the position of “War Tsar”, or some such stupidity to handle the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The military commanders in those countries report to the Commander of Central Command. The ambassadors report to an Assistant Under Secretary for the region. The purpose of the National Security Council in the White House is to coordinate these things. The National Security Advisor should be making some decisions, and all that is needed is for the President to back his own advisor.
Appointing a new person is extraneous and pointless. If you claim to be the “Commander in Chief”, the “War President”, and the “Decider”, why do you hire someone else to do those jobs? You can’t just say you’re in charge; you have to actually be in charge.
Beyond that, Congress won’t fund it, and the people who are qualified already know that it’s a job for a scapegoat.
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“Appointing a new person is extraneous and pointless.” – Bryan
Is it even constitutional? Can the Commander in Chief specified in the Constitution delegate that authority to anyone else? I’m sure they’ll find a way to read it that allows him to do it, but the plain text certainly doesn’t say anything about the C-in-C appointing an intermediary to do his job for him.
By now, everyone in America is bound to know what this is all about, and it’s one sorry, cowardly business, right out in front of God ‘n’ everybody. Bush should just give it up. For that matter, Bush should just give up, go to Crawford and take Cheney with him. That way, whenever they feel like it, they can drink beer and go hunting…
Maybe the Shrubbery should read the book Miss Laura read to the kids at the White House Easter Egg Roll. Interesting choice – a book about a duck who becomes President, decides it’s too much work, and goes back to the farm.