RALEIGH – The announced departure of six members of President George W. Bush’s 15-member Cabinet – including top officials such as Secretary of State Colin Powell and Attorney General John Ashcroft – isn’t quite as dramatic as it appears. Second terms often bring significant changes for presidential administrations. What’s happening here is primarily a bunch of announcements in a relatively short time.
There are some interesting implications, it seems to me. The most important one is that President Bush seems already to have selected Powell’s replacement: National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. Rumored to be interested in returning to Stanford University, Rice has instead likely committed to a substantial and lengthy role in Bush’s second term.
Other than Secretary of Defense, there is arguably no powerful member of the team than Secretary of State. By entrusting the job to Rice, a longtime Bush confidante and chief strategist of his approach to foreign affairs and national-security matters, the president is sending a clear signal that he believes his past decisions were the right ones and intends to press forward with his policy in Iraq, his strategy against al Qaeda and dangerous rogue states such as Iran and North Korea, and his willingness to assert American power and ideals when the national interest is at stake – whether it is popular in Paris and Berlin or not.
Another signal sent by the Rice nomination is that she will remain a powerful force in Washington. Those who dream of a Condi Rice campaign for president will be heartened. Those Republicans seeking to perform on the national stage in the coming years – including Rudy Giuliani and governors such as Bill Owens of Colorado, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, and George Pataki of New York – will have another competitor for the spotlight. I have no idea whether Rice is interested in elective office, much less the presidential race in 2008, but her new job keeps the options open and the speculation going.
On the other posts, it seems that for the most part lower-level members of the Bush administration have been or will be tapped to ascend to the Cabinet. That’s also normal for second presidential terms. Of course, I’d like to see most of these jobs – Commerce, Agriculture, Energy, and Education – downsized into lower-level posts, their free-standing departments disbanded. Indeed, I can’t think of a reason why we should even bother to fill the first two posts. Just abolish the departments altogether. As for Energy and Education, I’d move the truly critical functions of the former into Defense, Interior, or the EPA and eliminate all but the research and accountability functions of the latter.
But I digress, sadly.
The political class will surely attempt to spin all of this into a story big enough to last through the weekend interview shows. Otherwise commentators will have to talk about Fallujah and signs of a pickup in the economic recovery, and who wants to chew on good news? But the reality is that President Bush clearly articulated his policy priorities for the second term and was reelected. None of his nominations will change that reality, annoying as that may be for some to accept.
Regarding the president’s evident decision to continue placing his faith and trust in top advisors of diverse backgrounds, I almost forgot to mention it. Good – maybe next time I’ll forget altogether.
Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.