Turnover Spreads to First Lady's Office

[barbaraann]

The White House this morning announced two big staff changes in the First Lady's office. Andi Ball is out as chief of staff, replaced by Anita McBride. McBride is coming over from the State Department but previously worked at the White House, including a stint as director of White House personnel from 1987-92.

Cathy Fenton is out as White House social secretary, replaced by Lea Berman. Berman worked in the Bush/Cheney campaign and before that was social secretary and then chief of staff to Lynne Cheney.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51445-2004Dec9.html

I find this stunning and just chanced upon it reading about something else because they seem to be keeping it quiet. Does anyone have a clue what this means?

[tk2kewl]

1. Turn over...

let me get you from the other side

[rkc3]

2. My guess is that Pickles is a bit of a bee-otch and the two ran in fear.

[Supersedeas]

18. nooooo, they left to spend more time with family, of course

[Catherine Vincent]

3. What's the difference in what Laura did compared to Hillary?

Hillary let go people in the travel office and put some of her people in and Laura dismissed people in the first lady office and put some of her people in.

[barbaraann]

5. The difference is that this is part of a massive turnover at the top

levels of the Bush administration. There weren't nearly as many resignations/dismissals when Clinton was reelected.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. I don't remember the sequence but...

Isn't Laura Bush's people, her own people? While Hillary replaced GB hangovers?

[Catherine Vincent]

9. Is that why the repukes bitched and moaned about the Travel office

firings?

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. Can you imagine?

And Bush has required loyalty oaths from his people and not a peep from the Democrats.

[barbaraann]

11. The travelgate people were indeed holdovers.

I'm not sure about Laura's staff but I would assume she picked her personal staff.

[barbaraann]

10. Also, these were people on Laura's PERSONAL staff.

I don't remember turmoil on Hillary's personal staff.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Paranoia?

[gWbush is Mabus]

7. too much second hand smoke????????????????????????????????????????????????

[spinbaby]

8. I'm surprised to hear she has an office

She just doesn't seem to do anything that requires one.

[VegasWolf]

12. a new Secretary of the Nails? n/t

[zbdent]

13. How much do you want to bet that, instead of a severance check,

"departing contestants" get a few nice pictures of their loved ones, along with a vaguely worded threat about keeping their mouths shut?

[gnofg]

14. tired

you can only empty so many ashtrays until you snap

[VegasWolf]

16. Wonder what the official cigarrette of the White House is? n/t

[KC21304]

17. Maybe Dick and Lynne thought Laura was having too many

independent thoughts and they wanted one of their people running the social scene at the White House.