...or are things a little quiet right now?

The dog days of summer, (this phrase once applied to the women I dated in August), are with us in earnest. There seems to be an eerie quiet over the land. School (and Congress) are back in session; high school, college and pro football are just starting; and George Bush is naming cabinet members with a stealth that puts the CIA to shame.

Just for fun, Google up the Bush cabinet. Aside from the usual suspects - Condi; Don "stuff happens" Rumsfeld; Alberto "whatever you say, boss" Gonzales; Michael "storm? What storm?" Chertoff; and, if you read your currency, Henry Paulson at Treasury - you won't know anyone. You could be standing behind the entire cabinet at Starbucks and, except for Rumsfeld's perpetual sneer and Condi's smile, not recognize a single soul. I would be amazed if even her parents knew that Margaret Spellings was Secretary of Education. She probably just forgot to mention it.

My guess is that on the resume of these anonymous public servants, an asterisk appears next to this job listing:
"Samuel W. Bodman, Secretary of Energy*
*in the declining years of the Bush administration.

Whatever happened to the bright lights of the first GWB cabinet?

There was Colin Powell. He was going to show George W. the ways of global politics, (after he bought George a globe). Once he got into the White House he made less noise in foreign affairs than the White House cat. Although he probably realized that he was strictly window-dressing, he hung in for the entire first term. During his time in the cabinet he showed more loyalty than was ever shown to him.

Then there was the moderate Republican from New Jersey, Christine Todd Whitman. She was installed as head of The Environmental Protection Agency. Because the Bush crowd had zero interest in protecting anything, Christine's microphone was shut off for her entire time in office. Owing to a sudden attack of self-respect, she was the first cabinet member off the island. Bravo, Christine.

To ensure that Christine couldn't protect anything, Bush installed Gail Norton as Secretary of the Interior. Gail's previous post was as a PR flack for the oil and timber industries. Ms. Norton's primary focus for her five-year run at Interior was to champion the administration's desire to drill for oil in the Alaskan Wilderness. Thankfully, she was about as successful in this enterprise as Rumsfeld has been in Iraq. She recently returned to Colorado where she is, no doubt, leading the charge to clear-cut the Gunnison National Forest.

All of these knights in borrowed armor have been replaced with folks that Americans couldn't pick out of a line-up that included John Michael Karr and Lindsey Lohan. Mark Johanns? Michael Leavitt? Elaine Chao? Who are these people?

Well, fear not. It's not like any of these lesser lights are actually going to be given the power to do anything. The reins of government are still firmly in the same shaky hands that have always held them...Dick Cheney's and Don Rumsfeld's; oh, and that other guy.

Just today, Mary Peters was chosen to replace Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. You may remember Mr. Mineta as the only member of the Clinton cabinet to be retained by the Bushies. I'm guessing that they couldn't find anyone else that would work for them. The Bush people were confident that Norman couldn't cause much trouble in that his primary role at Transportation was to decide how many flights United can run out of Kansas City, and to stamp "pilot error" on the jackets of airline incident reports.

I'm sure that Ms. Peters is a wonderful and competent person, but when I look at her all I can see is Harriet Myers. You remember Harriet. She was George's choice to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Dick Cheney hasn't left George alone in a room since.

If any of you are waiting (read, hoping) for Rumsfeld to step down or be cashiered, forget it. To be blunt, George hasn't got the cahones. Rumsfeld's decisions in Iraq are the primary reason that Bush has ratings lower than C-Span on Christmas. Even the dog days of summer can't stop the casualties, American and Canadian, from floating up the Potomac. I'm guessing George would love for some country like the Sudan to offer Rumsfeld the job of Secretary of Tourism. No such luck. When old Don Rumsfeld signs on for a disaster, he's in for the duration. No cut and run for him!

How about this for a solution? Arrange a hunting trip for Cheney and Rumsfeld. However it comes out, America wins.