Rats desert a sinking ship.

Problem, reaction, solution. Threats and more threats. Rove packing up and leaving the ship Swiss Cheese is both a surprise and non-surprise. His efforts to help the president recover from both dismal approval and performance records are the political equivalent of throwing alcohol on a burning barn. Kerosene is clear like water, so it should work just as well to put out a fire, right?

Apparently that rational goes in politics as well. So why can't any campaign manager advise an unsuccessful president on the right way to be president? It's all the same isn't it?

This kind of blindness pervades everything, even in the business world. In the business world, in almost every case where a venture capitalist took over a business to personally manage the company they have run it into the ground. What we're talking about here are different skill sets WITHIN the same profession. Just as there are different doctors called specialists, because no one doctor could ever begin to know all the countless treatment protocols for illnesses and surgery skills.

About 10 years ago I had an interesting discussion with the late president of Eastman Kodak, Kay Whitmore. He was a very down-to-earth man, and since I had my own company at the time and knew him, it seemed logical to ask him for some advice. He started out as a production line supervisor at Kodak, about 2 levels above rock bottom. A graduate of the renowned Sloan Business School, Kay was as sharp as a tack. Since I respected what he had accomplished, it seemed like he could be of great help.

We were standing out in a hay field one day, working together on a non-profit public event. During a lull in the activities, I gave Kay some information on the area I was interested in and he pondered it for a moment, carefully choosing his words. He then responded with one sentence I will never forget: "I can tell you how to run a large corporation like Kodak, but I can't tell you how to run a small business." Though at the time Kay managed a corporation with more than 70,000 employees, he was sharp and knew exactly what his skill set was. Only a humble CEO could do that. And humble CEOs are few and far between.

Apparently a similar thing applies in politics.

In the case of untouchable-Rove advising Bush on how to keep his sinking ship afloat, different political disciplines are required than those needed for a presidential campaign. But historically, those who work on presidential campaigns have also been "appointed" to high paying, low thinking jobs in Washington such as a secretary of HUD, DOE and so and so. They think of it as a reward for their efforts. Whether or not they can do the civil service job doesn't matter, since staff which has been there for decades does all the work for them. And approval for any appointment by a subcommittee is nothing more than an exercise. Witness the almost non-existent rejections of candidates over the past 5 years.

Back to the Whitehouse ship Swiss Cheese. The vessel's cheese is so spoiled that even the rats are jumping ship. How many more will leave? And who will be dumbed-down enough to accept a tap on the shoulder to go work there? In less than two years, they too will be out the door and out of work as the new president brings in his own crowd of campaign-workers-turned-civil-employees. That is, if there is another election. Meanwhile, everyone would be wise to buy a Geiger counter. The administration has implied as much with regard to an upcoming "nuclear event."

Would anyone dump their career and job security to go work on a sinking ship to take the place of the jumping rats? Sure they will ­ their king-sized egos will drive them to it. And as the expression goes, "there's a sucker born every minute." And it looks like Iraq isn't the only meat grinder.

Ted Twietmeyer
www.data4science.net