TIME TO CALL FOR BACKUP?

摘要

George W. Bush can be more stubborn than sagebrush, especially when it comes to sacking a wayward team member. The best way to ensure that he never fires a lieutenant is for a Democratic critic to call for that official's ouster. Examples of the President's reluctance to hand out pink slips abound. There's Army Secretary Thomas E. White, whose dealings as an Enron Corp. exec fueled calls for his firing. He's still on the job. So is Securities & Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey L. Pitt, whose repeated gaffes led Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) to demand his scalp. While Bush can't fire Pitt, an independent regulator, a signal of displeasure could cause the embattled SEC head to fall on his sword. But even if Bush wanted Pitt out, the President's friends say he's inclined to hold off now to spite the Democrats. Still, the drumbeat isn't stopping. On Oct. 10, Daschle and Gephardt demanded a purge of the Bush economic team. Insisting it's time to "clean house," Daschle derided the current econo-crew's advice as running the gamut "from bad to worse." So, does this latest salvo mean the President's economic brain trust looks solid for the foreseeable future?