Dan Bartlett, the President's longest-serving aide, celebrated his 36th birthday by announcing his resignation. Bartlett is "counselor to the President," which means he tells Bush when his suit is ugly and then lies to the press in a very friendly manner. He has promised not to write a book, which is good, because he's apparently gone completely nuts.
"It's been a roller coaster that seems always to go up," Bartlett said of his White House years. "There have been extremely proud moments to see our country rise up during a time of national challenge."
Even leaving aside the fact that his definition of "up" is a bit screwy, we're still forced to decode his metaphor as predicting a huge, calamitous nation-wide free-fall in the near future. Which is refreshingly candid, especially coming from this White House.
Bartlett will step down some time around July 4, and in his honor every quote in a major newspaper that day will be attributed to a "senior administration offical, speaking on the condition of anonymity."
