Vacancy sign at the White House! To be filled or not to be filled that is the Question?

Yesterday I was listening to a story on CNN and the thought that the Bush Administration was falling apart. It led me to question a few things. I know it is normal for every Administration to have staff problems at the end of their tenure. However this is no normal Presidency or Administration. This is the worst in the history of the country and as such I see the end of his tenure as no normal ending or simple staffing or confirmation problem.
In light of the fact that this is the first obvious liar I have ever seen as President in my life and he has blatantly pursued his new societal, middle east, and world order, requiring all those in his mis Administration to be proven liars faithful to a fault I expect impasse unless Bush does something underhanded. The Democratic Congress finally realizes this and is not going to willingly allow any questionable confirmations.
Bush has just 17 months remaining. A lot of work to do ,not just in attempting to pursue his new order but trying to find the proven liars that will enable him to do so. Like its predecessors, the Bush administration faces a large number of vacancies in its last months, as political appointees explore opportunities in the private sector. Finding replacements won't be so easy, analysts say, especially given the conflict between the Republican White House and the Democratic Senate that must confirm Bush's picks.

"It is very typical to get a slew of vacancies" near the end of a presidency, says Thomas Mann, a senior fellow in governance studies with The Brookings Institution. "It's tough to get good people to fill in, especially if there's a possibly of a contentious confirmation process." The biggest problem to me is that Democrat's realize Bush must be stopped. As I watch events ratchet up daily with Iran as you know I believe Bush will beat Congress and attack Iran and news I heard this morning and will talk about tomorrow seals it for me. Democrats in Congress I hope have the same concern but I am afraid regardless they will not stop Bush!
Besides attorney general, Bush is also looking for a secretary of Veterans Affairs, a chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and another member of the Federal Election Commission. There have been at least 89 executive branch departures this year, according to a Government Accountability Office database of government jobs. Since Democrats took over Congress in January, Bush has nominated 93 people who have yet to be confirmed, she notes. The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on Bush's choice for director of the Office of Management and Budget, former congressman Jim Nussle.

Other nominees awaiting confirmation include the surgeon general, two candidates to the Federal Reserve Board and the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development. I know we need a Deputy Attorney General, an associate Attorney General, what else?
I understand that many think the biggest obstacle to attracting new talent at this stage may be the rigors of getting confirmed by the Senate. But that is only because of the chief liar and the desire to stop the still just unfolding horrors he has in store for us the middle east and the world.
Vacancy sign on at White House - USATODAY.com*
Can anyone tell me if it is normal to have this many vacancies and difficulty in getting confirmed or is Bush the Pariah we believe?

James Joiner
Gardner Ma
http://www.blogger.com/

We're reduced to Worthless Political games, media jokes and critical Iraq issues ignored!

We accomplish more as we sleep: We're reduced to Worthless Political games while the media jokes and critical Iraq issues are ignored!
As we listened to the Partisan bickering over an Iraq withdrawal we have been reduced to playing Republican games. In this instance it is the Political theater of a Senate sleep over. The vote of course failed and is being called a defeat for the Democrats but it is not. It is a defeat for America and our troops.
Meanwhile some very important Issues to our troops and their care is being ignored and swept under the rug. As I was researching news sources to talk about what was happening or "not happening" in the Senate I discovered the usual biased coverage. While CNN took this seriously Fox accused Democrats of playing games. Meanwhile nothing is going to get accomplished and I had to go to other sources and stories to get the serious news on this that is glossed over, ignored, and not mentioned to us.
The CNN story did show that as we know, that all night session was absolutely worthless as everyone interviewed insisted on holding their Partisan course while ignoring the real issues at hand.
It is sickening to hear the childish senseless banter to Protect Bush and his mess while our troops are in real danger, being ill cared for, and their equipment needs go unmet and underfunded by Bush.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/17/senate.iraq/index.html
Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut did say that he would introduce an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would cut funding for combat missions in Iraq and he would use the billions in savings to rebuild the nation's military. that of course is something else that may be needed but will never happen. Millions of dollars a week are being squandered in Iraq . While our nation's military is calling out for additional resources to repair the damage caused by the administration's policies Dodd said.
Dodd said the National Guard has requested $38 billion from Congress to replace vehicles, aircraft, equipment and personal gear that were transferred to Iraq, and that shortfall remains unfunded in the current defense authorization bill.
"It means that we are short of equipment to respond to natural and man-made disasters here at home, short of equipment for training, short of equipment to maintain the standard of maintenance rotation for equipment currently in the field ... short of equipment to protect the American people," he said.
How can we ignore those issues and make a joke out of the very important issue of troop withdrawal? I was disappointed to see that the Washington Post also treated the all night debate as a joke instead of treating our situation seriously. Amidst all these wasted Partisan arguments on withdrawing our troops I did run into an important story that is unfolding at least under my radar and on the Washington Post. Maybe things will get done right, there now.
Anyway the secretary of veterans affairs, resigned yesterday and said he would leave his post by Oct. 1, ending a tenure marked by the largest data breach in the federal government's history and sharp criticism of the care given to injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has done such a great job of mismanaging the Department of Veterans affairs that I am sure he too will be given a medal.
I'm sure you remember that The agency has faced considerable criticism for its treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as they move from the military healthcare system to VA's, and for its chronically slow processing of disability claims by injured or sick veterans from all eras. Critics complain about lost paperwork, a shortage of VA caseworkers, a caseload of 400,000 pending disability claims and long waits for initial appointments in the VA healthcare system.
The criticism grew louder this year when The Washington Post revealed decrepit conditions and poor outpatient treatment of wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, though that facility is run by the Pentagon, not VA.
Yet Nicholson said he was not asked to step down. He said It is a good time -- if there ever is a good time -- to leave the VA. There were no frustrations causing me to think about resigning. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/17/AR2007071700701.html?hpid=sec-nation
Sadly, I can believe that as like Bush, his whole MisAdministration, and the bias Media, they all think they are doing a great job and they are but for them. Someone has to start doing the right thing for our soldiers in Iraq and get them home while treating them right if they are wounded. All this back slapping and game playing must stop or our soldiers situations everywhere are going to continue to degrade and get much worse.

James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
www.anaveragepatriot.com