Bye, Bye, Bartlett

Dan Bartlett, probably the lowest-profile of Bush's longtime senior aides, is calling it quits in order to spend more time with his family and, it seems, to try to cash in with a private sector job ("Bartlett said he was open to job opportunities and had retained Washington attorney Bob Barnett to help him in the search") before connections to the Bush administration become worthless. Flashback to the classic chutzpah of when Bartlett denied the administration ever wanted to "stay the course" in Iraq.

Comments

I've never thought of hiring a lawyer for job-hunting. Does he sit in during interviews, and tell you how to answer questions like, "Describe your biggest weakness" and "Tell me what value you can add to our team"?

Posted by sglover | June 1, 2007 10:18 AM

I'd rather these clowns draw their salary from Richard Mellon Scaife than taxpayers. Good riddance.

Posted by joshua | June 1, 2007 11:16 AM

Is it just me, or doesn't anyone find t absolutely shocking that this guy occupied such a stratospheric position when he was 29 years old?

And that in his brief lifetime he'd only ever worked for W or W's top crony?

Seriously, what? Is it the least bit shocking that this white house has made a series of blunders unparallelled in US history when its top guys are these kids who have never been anywhere or done anything? Seriously, Dan Bartlett has great judgment? Was he the one who blew off Katrina or who thought we'd be greeted with a parade in Iraq.

He was not even 30 in 2001 when he ascended, and he'd never had a job doing anything but political hack work for George W Bush. Shocking we ended up in such a catastrophically bad postion.

Posted by anonymous | June 1, 2007 12:09 PM

The resignation of Barlett raises the age-old question, What sane person could possibly give a rat's hindquarters? Does anyone even know, without looking it up, what the hell this guy actually did in the Administration? Was it anything that couldn't have been done by a well-trained parrot?

Posted by The Next to Last Pope | June 1, 2007 1:04 PM

Surely Matt doesn't think Bartlett was too young to have a position of influence at 29. Remember Bartlett earned his spurs by being the flunky who had GW's less than stellar Air National Guard record expunged or shredded. Who was it that had his original driver's license record erased and got him a new driver's license number?

Posted by Ernie Fazio | June 1, 2007 2:48 PM

"Does anyone even know, without looking it up, what the hell this guy actually did in the Administration? Was it anything that couldn't have been done by a well-trained parrot?"

Well, from this:
http://wonkette.com/politics/dan-bartlett/

'Bartlett is “counselor to the President,” which means he tells Bush when his suit is ugly and then lies to the press in a very friendly manner. '

It seems his two main duties were saying,"He's a pretty boy." and dumping crap on newspapers. I don't know if a McCaw could do it, but I feel confident about an African Grey.

Posted by Njorl | June 1, 2007 2:54 PM

He's 36. The maximum enlistment age is 42. Since he's a supporter of the Iraq War, obviously he's resigning so he can enlist.

Posted by croatoan | June 1, 2007 4:10 PM