i was trying to put my finger on it...

[pun intended] for the last few weeks. What is it exactly that makes K. George W (re)act the way he does when he gets caught or questioned or wronged?

Michael Currie Schaffer in an article for "The New Republic" entitled Paul Wolfowitz and Alberto Gonzales should switch jobs explains it very well.

The controversies surrounding Paul Wolfowitz and Alberto Gonzales present President Bush with a conundrum. On the one hand, the two embattled appointees are in obviously untenable positions--their attentions entirely focused on surviving rather than actually doing their jobs. Their continued presence atop the World Bank and Justice Department are dragging Bush's reputation even lower--no mean feat. On the other hand, Bush is famously loyal and particularly stubborn in the face of prodding by the Europeans, liberals, and media types who are calling for the two loyalists' scalps. In Bush's mind, the World Bank president and the attorney general may well represent walking, talking middle fingers [bold is mine] aimed directly at his snottiest critics.

It is in keeping with something he did when he was governor of Texas.



If only more people understood that this is what he may truly be like - and not really very christian...

So what's with the point of Schaffer's article?

So, what's a Decider to do? Doing nothing probably won't work, since the Bank's board could decide to give Wolfowitz the gate even without American permission, and since Congress may yet bust Gonzales on a lying charge (leading to the spectacle of the nation's chief lawman doing a perp walk). Luckily, there's an answer that could appeal to a bold president like Bush. It's a simple plan, something the chief executive may remember from the happier days when he ran the Texas Rangers: a trade. Wolfie goes to Justice, Gonzo goes to the Bank, and everyone goes home happy.

Neither one of them has been doing their job well, so they really couldn't do any worse.

or could they?