The Bush Administration's Big Hack Attack

Harriet Miers and Michael Brown are the bookends of the Bush administration's prediliction for appointing people to important positions based on their political bona fides rather than whether they're actually qualified.

Miers, of course, was such a lightweight that even the Republican right wing couldn't abide her as a Supreme Court nominee, while Brown disgraced himself magnificently by shaving off more positive public opinion oll number for the president than even Vice President Cheney could by presiding over FEMA's disastrous response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

But we're only scratching the surface here, kids.

There's David Safavian, the hack whom Bush installed as the administration's chief procurement officer. Poor Dave is having a bad spring, what with him being on trial for doing favors for imprisoned Republican super lobbyist Jack Ambramoff and all.

This exchange between Justice Department prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg speaks volumes:

Zeidenberg: Did you think you were qualified for the job?

Safavian: Probably not, actually.

Steve Bennen has provided a noble service at Washington Monthly with an abbreviated list of other lesser known administration hacks. They include:

Hector Barreto, who's only qualification to run the Small Business Administration was his experience as a GOP fundraiser.

Then there's his replacement, Steven Preston, who has the same qualifications.

Or Stewart Simonson, who is in chair of bioterrorism matters at the Department of Health and Human Services despite an utter lack of experience in either national security or public health.

Lest we forget, there's that Douglas Hoelscher, whose only qualification for become a high ranking Department of Homeland Security official was that he used to be a low-level staffer in the White House travel office.

And Ellen Sauerbrey, who the prez appoint to be Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration despite having zero experience in any of those areas.

Finally, there's Julie Myers, who was named to lead lead the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite the fact that she had experience that could help her lead a troubled agency badly in need of reform that has 15,000 employees and a $4 billion annual budget that is badly in need of reform. Nevertheless, Myers' cronyism connections are impeccible: She worked briefly as chief of staff to Michael Chertoff before he became Department of Homeland Security secretary. Her uncle is Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And she is married Chertoff's current chief of staff, John F. Wood.

As Benne notes, there might as well be a "No Policy Experts Need Apply" sign hanging in the West Wing.