Every Presidential administration has its own set of problems. Reagan had an Iran-Contra problem (leading to memory problems); Clinton had a libido problem (leading to functional literacy problems); Carter had a hostage problem (leading to a re-election problem; and, of course, Nixon had all sorts of problems, leading to his resignation. It's no surprise to anyone that the current President Bush administration is besieged by a sea of troubles; what's surprising is direction the waves are coming from. Over the past year, one former administration official after another has gone to the media to air the President's dirty laundry. While history may choose to remember him differently, right now it appears that George W. Bush has what might be called a "defection problem."

Of course, not all of Bush's defectors have gone over to the Democrats. Rand Beers might be working for Kerry now, but he's the exception. Paul O'Neill, for example, certainly doesn't seem like he's suddenly become some sort of tree-hugging liberal (he was in favor of the first two tax cuts, for example). And Richard Clarke, despite the fact that he admitted to voting for Gore, isn't exactly likely to be invited to Teddy Kennedy's next birthday party either. This is a double-whammy for Bush, because he can't just accuse his former employees of being fuzzy-headed liberals, and the fact that some of them are still members of his party demonstrates the kind of internecine fighting that Democrats are known for.

By and large the defections have not been from the Republican party as a whole, but from Bush himself. These men have more in common with each other than just lucrative book deals; they all found themselves in the same position as former Bush speechwriter, David Frum. They offered advice that was ignored by the President, and then they were asked to justify positions that they had serious disagreements with. When all these stories are taken together, Mr. Bush comes off like the villain of a Quinn Martin drama: "I don't care how you do it. . . Saddam Hussien must be eliminated!"

Why have these defectors from the Bush administration come forward to publicly attack the man they once served? It's possible that they're after some filthy lucre, which is a reason that most Americans are willing to believe, but considering that even a government report about him sold like gang-busters, one must ask oneself why Bill Clinton never had this problem. (Compared to the current crop of turncoat books, All Too Human by George Stephanopoulos, seems about as hostile as Ronald Reagan: An American Hero.) If this were entirely about money, one would expect that the administration responsible for Whitewater should have produced a line of money-grubbing former staffers at the door of Simon and Schuster's head office.

George W. Bush's inflexibility and closed-mindedness seems to be the root cause of these recent defections. O'Neill, and Clarke have had long careers in Washington and, in fact, have worked with a number of presidents. Surely they found their positions in the current administration less than comfortable. After all, they'd been serving in the executive branch for years, when all of a sudden some political newcomer, who barely squeaked his way into office came along and refused to listen to them. Presidents have advisers and aides for a reason, and one ignores them at one's own peril. In this case, as Richard Clarke alleges, that peril may include the deaths of over 3,000 American civilians, and hundreds of American soldiers.

Whether these defections were based on personal injury or a personal sense of ethics is up for debate. What is certain however, is that no president in recent memory has had this number of his former employees turn on him so harshly. And, unfortunately for the President, an election year is a bad time for the defectors start talking.

Democratic contenders for president live in fear of being compared to Jimmy Carter; but Republicans have their own ghost to be afraid of. So far, the few comparisons to "Tricky Dick" made by the opposition against various Republicans have failed to stick. Unfortunately for George W. Bush, this could change. Clinton's problems almost got him kicked out of office by Congress; in November, we'll see whether or not Bush's defection problem gets him kicked out by the people.

-B. C. Silvia
-4/7/2004