Chief of Staff Might be the Toughest Job in America

It seems that White House Chief of Staff  Joshua Bolten is caughtbetween a rock and a hard place in doing his job with the Bush administration.

Washington Post: ForBush's Staff Chief, A Thorny First Year

In just under a year as White House chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten hasengineered a thorough overhaul of top administration personnel, pushed to end"happy talk" about conditions in Iraq, and tried to reposition thepresident on issues such as the environment, the budget, detainee treatment andhealth care.

Yet as Bolten approaches his first anniversary on the job, he and thepresident he serves find themselves as politically besieged as ever. PresidentBush's approval ratings -- 36 percent, according to the most recent WashingtonPost-ABC News poll -- are lower than when Bolten took over last April. And thepresident is embroiled in new controversies involving his attorney general andthe handling of military health care, while trying to fend off an unexpectedlystrong challenge to his Iraq policy from congressional Democrats.

Partof the problem is he is dealing with a White House that values political loyaltyover competence, according to many lawmakers, political strategists andadministration officials.

It seems that Bush loyalists will do or say anythingno matter how unfavorable to the country, as long as Bush would approve of it.

Bush isn't a big fan of letting people do their jobs, but that'sanother story altogether.