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CNN: Bush Plans To Install High School Friend Clay Johnson At DHS

thinkprogress.org — This morning, CNNreported that “very senior level sources” inside the White House say that Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff will replace Alberto Gonzales. Additionally, these sources say Chertoff will be replaced at Homeland Security by Clay Johnson III, the Deputy Director for OMB. Johnson went to both prep school and college with Bush.

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  • queso74, on 10/10/2007, -6/+63Just what this country needs - more Brownies... and in charge of *homeland security*, no less.
    • jstohler, on 10/10/2007, -3/+13Yep. Here we go again...
      • InetRoadkill, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Woot! More cronyism! Like we haven't had enough of that already.
    • pixelate, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7"No counterterrorism experience, no intelligence experience, no law enforcement experience, no legal experience, no military experience unless you count his discussions about Vietnam with Mr. Bush while at Yale [which was only regarding how to avoid being drafted]" -Keith Olbermann last night.

      I'm sure he'd do a heckuva job.
  • dealsdealer, on 10/10/2007, -4/+78".........professional Bush loyalist ........."

    that's a title now ...
    • FatherVic, on 10/10/2007, -28/+4Yeah! I manage the IT department here at work and if there's one thing I hate, it's hiring people I know and trust to do the job. I love hiring complete strangers. Makes the work harder like it's supposed to be.

      Name me one president who did not hire people from his inner circle... All the way back to Washington this is how business is run. Suddenly now it's a problem.

      When I hire people here where I work... I find it is better to hire people who come recommended or who I know. If I know their skills and I know that I can trust them, they get the job. I have only hired people as our business has expanded over the last 3 years. I have never fired. Because I have a team that I can trust.

      Now tell me why that is a bad thing.
      • Dumbledorito, on 10/10/2007, -2/+23The difference is that you're hiring friends who might be qualitifed. If you'll actually read the article, this nominee's resume is severely lacking except in one respect: Bush was his roommate. Please, get a clue while there's still time.
      • knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -13/+3Nope, you're absolutely right. The problem is even if Bush tries to do the right thing from now on, his reputation is so bad, all the knee jerk reactions are going to be 'he's ***** up again' type of reactions.

        He deserves it in my opinion. There comes a point where it's too late to earn people's trust. He's also 61 years old now, I think he just wants the whole thing to be over.
      • jonnyeh, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16Bush has proven that he's a poor judge of abilities. I'm sure a random stranger could perform better than his idiot friends.
      • krnldmp, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6I just call them professional perjurers.
      • tHePeOPle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3One word: Brownie.
    • FatherVic, on 10/10/2007, -8/+1http://digg.com/politics/Bush_approved_the_ritual_sacrifice_of_children_and_baby_deers
    • Ianki, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3So, even fox news is getting sick of bush cronyism now. last night on O'Reilly, they did a whole segment condemning it, and listing at least 12 people who in the administration who don't deserve their job and have zero experience... My jaw was on the floor.
  • caponumen, on 10/10/2007, -6/+12Sounds like Gonzales didn't sign on to the escaltion in the use of the new dictators powers.
    You can bet whomever takes his place does.
    • thcobbs, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3No, Gonzales got tired of being "drug through the mud" as Bus said.
      • shmatt, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8which is a joke if you ask me, because he was grossly incompetent.
        • thcobbs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I agree... he should have stepped down as soon as it was discovered he lied under oath. If I had may way, I would have him put in jail....

          The AG should NEVER perjure himself. And if he does, he should get the stiffest penalties possible. The AG is OUR lawyer, not the Presidents.
        • sodoh, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0He only lied if he can remember it. ;)
  • chase001, on 10/10/2007, -1/+27Oh and he's the III. More of our Aristocratic elite running things.
    • Havs, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8I think he's from Texas. Down there they'd call him Clay Junior Junior, doesn't sound so aristocratic the Texan way does it?
      • malkiholic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Is he a real Texan or a Connecticut Texan like Bush?
        • chase001, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I will never understand how a grown man moves to texas after attending an Ivy League college and then develops and accent thicker than the locals.
    • thcobbs, on 10/10/2007, -8/+3My brother, who is anything but an Aristocrat, is the third male in our family to have the same name...
    • Triachus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I'm a third and all I do is sleep and drink. I actually consider both of them to be highly aristocratic hobbies and I think i'd be an excellent politician.
      • chase001, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You should call up Rove. He can make you a star, kid.
  • obliviousfool, on 10/10/2007, -1/+63Relax ...he worked for Frito-Lay. We'll get the terrorists addicted to Cool Ranch Doritos. Problem solved!
    • ViciousDotOrg, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Yeah but then they'll have Dorito breath. And I don't know what's worse, that or guns.
    • impissed, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3No more choking on snack food!
    • whisperedlie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4god damn it, now i want ranch doritos (but when do I not?)
    • noahhoward, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4That explains Saddam's Cheeto addiction.
  • ZephyrNinety, on 10/10/2007, -38/+2SHUT UP ABOUT BUSH! He ***** sucks, we know! Your jokes all ***** suck too.
    • Dumbledorito, on 10/10/2007, -0/+18Patton Oswalt was right. Former Bush supporters ARE like Creed fans.
      "Yeah, yeah, we know, we thought the lead guitarist was cute, now shut up about it."
    • crestfall, on 10/10/2007, -3/+16Yeah.. Just shut up and let him continue destroying our country without complaint... like good little children.
    • knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4You need to pursue the 'I will not comply, period!' digg submission. For evil to prevail, all it takes is for good people to do nothing - Albert Einstein.

      As much as it's looked down upon, one of the greatest things I love about the US is our right to bitch, so to speak.

      We lose that, we lose everything.
      • H3LLSL337, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Ummm, that was Edmund Burke, not Albert Einstein. ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’
    • toddcat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Awww...someone needs their nap.....is someone a wittle bit gwouchy? Waaaaaaaaaa. My Dad could beat up your Dad....waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....
  • airwalkery2k, on 10/10/2007, -2/+41I hope one of my friends becomes an incompetent leader somewhere so I can reap the benefits of an easy, free job. The benefits are amazing--you deny all responsibility, they back you up until you decide to resign then reward you for your service, and you get all the vacation you want.
    • knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -1/+11You forgot being set for life.

      I wonder how Gonzo got into Harvard Law?
  • Dumbledorito, on 10/10/2007, -2/+13So if you're a loyal Bushie, you get perks? I wondered what was keeping all those bloggers from abandoning him.
  • deadbaby, on 10/10/2007, -2/+58It's almost like Bush is trying to cement his legacy as a complete hack job of a President.
  • sdonahoe, on 10/10/2007, -5/+9Why has no one commented on the discrepancy between the title and the description? Andover is not a mere "high school" any more than Eton is. What I want to know was whether this guy was on the cheerleading squad with Dubya or not. And who was the top and who was the bottom? Inquiring minds want to know. Not that you'd ever see a picture in the National Enquirer of a certain young Mr. Bush and a certain Mr. Ashe. The anthrax attacks took care of that...or so some say.
    • rhabd0mancer, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9I don't think Bush is a homosexual. I think he is a hedonist. He'd ***** anybody, male or female, and ingest any drug if it increased his dopamine levels.
  • Gir9000, on 10/10/2007, -2/+16Homeland security should be shutdown! its a department that enforces a Bush dictatorship.
    • krnldmp, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7"Homeland Security" is the strictly commercial, fascist buzzword version of national security. As long as you have a goverment using such terminology as "Homeland Security" to replace what has always been known as the real thing, national security, you can safely bet you're getting less of that, and maybe the complete opposite.
    • Stofallkillers, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Besides, don't you mean 'Bushtatorship'?
  • zephris, on 10/10/2007, -3/+31God damn you Bush, no more bought "friends". I'm sick of this ***** and I'm sick of you. Can't wait for the day you're impeached and convicted for war crimes.
    • LordByr0n, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3***** that i think there needs to be a homicide.
      • NSMike, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Say hello to the Secret Service.
        • p0s3r, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2The Secret Service skips over emo teens raging here on digg.
      • texpundit, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Say hello to my little friend!

        (His name is Secret Service....well...that's what my girlfriend calls him.)
  • devjunkie, on 10/10/2007, -3/+15...and to think, you were all excited about Gonzales resigning only to find out someone worse will replace him.

    What a terrible country we live in.
    • bovious, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2Delta is ready when you are, dj. Hey, at least he's not putting his brother in at Justice, hey? Think how wrong and unprecedented that would be.
  • knowyourrights, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2Wait a second, whatever happened to what he said yesterday morning about the replacement being Paul Clements?

    Flip Flopper.
  • farshad153, on 10/10/2007, -4/+0http://zonow.com/319
  • theNazz, on 10/10/2007, -2/+20Bush is a first class ***** up. Always has been, always will be. The only people who support Bush are his rich friends and complete idiots.
  • brstilson, on 10/10/2007, -2/+36Honestly...did anyone really think Bush was going to make a GOOD choice here?
    • FatherVic, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Who would you like to see as Atty. Gen.?
      • toddcat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Pretty much ANYONE would be an improvement. Just call up a guy in a random phone book.....and if he can form a sentence it probably means he at least isn't calculating the political expedience of everything. So yeah, I'd take ABSO-*****'-LUTELY ANYONE.
    • Bastian227, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8"Insanity: the belief that one can get different results by doing the same thing." -- Albert Einstein
  • bmiller949, on 10/10/2007, -3/+23Clay Johnson? Was his nickname in High School... "Terra Cotta Dick"?
    • pellevoisin, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Clay Johnson III was called "Turd"...
  • JFitzpatrick, on 10/10/2007, -4/+8So I read the title as: "Bush plans to install high school friendly clay johnson at DHS" ... OR "Bush is going to install a giant clay penis at local highschool." To which I thought "Well it isn't like he has to worry about his ratings."
  • databoy, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10When are you Yanks going to wake up that the good old USofA is only a third world Banana Republic run by the religious right. You are definitely not a democracy.
    • FatherVic, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1That's right... we are a democratic-republic.

      douche
    • bjs3171, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I woke up to that a long time ago, and i'm a "yank".
    • chase001, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Our country's religious theocrats madea massive power play staring when Reagan was President and continuing through the Bushes.It's starting to backfire on them in a big way.
  • mikedoth, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7It's not what you know... it's who you know. Sad.
    • krnldmp, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Yeah well it's gotten to the point where Wired magazine is running print about how to smoke pole and toungue bung to move up in your company. You're supposed to only be able to do this in the office according to the articles but it's a way of life now even in what remains of US factories. The art of ass kiss is now highly regarded as "the way it is" all over the country and raw performance is something you buy on the cheap overseas. This has ***** me off for years but when you see it in federal government you know ***** is coming to a head. The corporate buttsuck culture has even infected and seriously damaged the US military. It's gonna get worse before it gets better.
  • ftbwater, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Doesn't congress have to approve his appointees? Lets see if our overpaid senators can show just a bit of sack on this one.
    • toddcat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Coz they've had SUCH moral rectitude up until now. end sarcasm.
    • wpjmurray, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Congress does have to approve, but Bush can make a temporary appointment before Congress decides if they like him. The temporary appointment can last up to 210 days and that resets if Congress denies a candidate, so essentially Bush can ride out a temp till his term ends if he picks anybody remotely controversial and the Dems grow some balls.
      • Viking2000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I would expect our President to go with the Acting AG while our Congress, with its 18% approval rating, will spend the rest of the term trying to make us think they are trying to be governmental. In that they have already failed
  • tjolson, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6Michael Chertoff - "The man with the prophetic gut" as Keith Olbermann calls him. LOL
  • bentman78, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3buried. Who is there "inside" sources. Most times they tend to be wrong.
  • Egoist, on 10/10/2007, -8/+3You can always tell the average age of Digg readers when the idea of powerful people hiring their friends is considered something "new."


    An honest question for you all: You're the President of the US and you have to select someone for a cabinet level position. Do you select someone by pulling names out of a hat or do you hire someone you trust and know will work with you and won't cause conflict?
    • erekose, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I'd be more concerned with their ability to do the job properly.
      • Egoist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2So would you be more knowledgeable about a complete stranger's ability to perform a job, or with someone that you've known for years?
    • toddcat, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Well we already know the answer for W.
    • Egoist, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3No, seriously, don't just blindly digg me down. Answer the question.
    • wpjmurray, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Good point, and the Congress is supposed to be the one to tell the President that his friends are idiots.
    • krnldmp, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2The plan isn't knew. The extent of it these days and the belief by common people that it could actually work out good is something entirely new in this country. Americans used to be impressively adverse to chronyism, greased palms, and utter *****, instantly breaking out in a violent allergic reaction when exposed to it. That's why they were admired, even if secretly, the world over. They took no *****. There's a complacency and bogus pride problem around here now, and not much will improve until that goes away.
      • krnldmp, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0sorry about the mispelling
      • Egoist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2*****. Washington's 4-man cabinet was comprised of close, trusted friends. He didn't pick people off of the streets. Americans were never actively against "cronyism." No American war has ever broken out over any of your listed items.

        Your view of American history is filled partly real, partly fiction, and mostly imaginary.
        • jitterbits, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0And what of Lincoln, who famously stacked his cabinet with people who disagreed? Only a weak person surrounds themselves with those who will always find them correct.
          If Bush's close, trusted friends weren't of the same mental and moral fiber as he is, there wouldn't be a problem. However, we have an incompetent, myopic, self-serving person choosing those who closest resemble himself. That's why there's a problem. If Bush were looking out for the best interests of the US and Americans, he would choose those who also have our best interests at heart. His priorities lie elsewhere, and as such, so do his loyalties.
    • crapmatic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5How about C - select someone with experience and competence for the position, and someone you know you trust and will work with you.
    • sjones, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Yes, those factors would come into play, but they would also have to know something about the position for which they were being selected so my advisers could actually advise. I wouldn't, say, select a former horse show manager to run FEMA.
    • passive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Ok, I will take you at face value. I'm the President, and I'm nominating someone to run the Department of Homeland Security.
      Best I can tell, the DHS is supposed to coordinate efforts to prevent terrorist attacks on US soil. You can take a look at their Strategic Goals here:
      http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/strategicplan/index.shtm

      Being a prevention-minded person, I suppose I would nominate someone who would, first and foremost, have experiencing identifying and preventing terrorist attacks.
    • bjs3171, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2after i applied for my job, i went to this thing called an interview. my potential and future boss then asked me questions, and took a look at my past work. apparently that's how he decided i'd be good for the job. crazy, i know.
  • TechCoder, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3"no talent ass clowns"
  • readthis, on 10/10/2007, -4/+4Bush must keep a tight inner circle of trusted friends even if they aren't qualified for the highest jobs in the land. Michael Chertoff can keep a secret--that 9/11 was an inside job.
  • growler1, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I suppose it's some small consolation that the "department" of "homeland security" is pretty ineffectual to begin with. But still, our intrepid leader continues his campaign of un-inspiration.
    • krnldmp, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Homeland Security's real name is /dev/null.
  • ManOfVirtues, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4If we cant impeach bush, can we at least take away his power to appoint people, So far hes batting 0 - 6
  • jocknerd, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The real question is what will Bush do when he leaves office? He's never held a real job in his life. When he got out of college, his dad set up oil companies for him to run. He failed at them. So then he decided to become a partner in ownership of the Texas Rangers. Then he got bored with that so he decided to run for governor of Texas. So he got that job and then he became President. What is he going to do next? Maybe run for Senator? Ha ha.

    I guess he will retire now since he really isn't qualified for any "real" job that would actually require an interview.
    • Newlow, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Dick will take care of him. I mean they probably now have billions of dollars stored in off-shore accounts from all the money halliburton and other private contractors plundered from the US taxpayers.
    • stupidcabbage, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Sure, he'll retire, if one calls drowning oneself in tequila to be retiring.

      Many ex-presidents go on to corporate consulting, etc., but who in their right mind would want any business advice this colossal failure could give?
  • crapmatic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0"Cronyism" is rapidly becoming a household word in America.
  • fotbr, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2If the article is from CNN, why do we get a link to thingprogress' blogspam?
  • jellygraph, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Great, another Cletus in the Whitehouse...
  • hcl40u, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I sure hope "High school friend" isn't the only qualification it takes to work at DHS.
  • KingBunny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Hahaha. Haha. Ha.
    ..ha.
    *cry*
  • visiblepulse, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1the justice department cannot police the executive branch if they are chums. they need to be appointed separately.
  • truteller, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Another Pepto-Bismol day! I should have bought stock in the company. I would have been rich thanks to George !
  • mcq3000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0[quote]Asked about his relationship to Bush, Johnson told the New York Times recently that “there’s a lot of devotion to George Bush the person.” Johnson, who “is probably the only person to have spanked” the president’s dog, Barney, “keeps a George Bush doll on his desk.”[/quote]

    A George Bush doll.This guy takes loyal Bushie to a whole other level
    • Stofallkillers, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Wait, you don't have one? All I need now is a flock of his hair and my George Bush voodoo doll will be complete...
  • Ebacherville, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1and every one said it couldn't get worse.... ha ha.. hope your ready..
  • Newlow, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Wow, this sounds just like the time when Putin appointed his friends from the neighborhood where he usually goes on vacation to be the heads of nanotechnology development.

    Sounds like when Bush looked into Putin's eyes, he saw a person that was very like himself..

  • fromonesource, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1“I want someone whose primary interest is me — George Bush — and who doesn’t hope to parlay this into something and isn’t trying to curry favor with this one or that one,” Bush told Johnson and his wife, Anne Sewell Johnson, over lunch.
  • sodoh, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0Think Progress is a satire site? right??

    I am glad to see he is putting someone in who can focus on the important issues like dog spanking and having dolls.
    • icpeanuts, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0The most important part of the job would be Agreeing with the President and kissing his skinny white ass. I am sure whoever takes over can fulfill the job since that person will be doing nothing. Does it really matter anymore? I guess not.
  • sodoh, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I am surprised though Bush didn't suggest Harriet Miers. :)
  • synthpop, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0"cronyism" - it's not just a fancy-shmancy word, it's a way of life. Ethics? we don't need no stinkin' ethics, YEEE-HAAWWW!!
  • Bercebu48, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Another incompetent bastard.
    • hittnrun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0you shouldn't be so hard on yourself.
  • Matthew720, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Surprise surprise. Bush's nomination speech is going to sound like this :"Mr. Chertoff is a good man. He is the right man for the job. He knows this job is no easy task and I am confident in his mad skillz. Mr Chertoff, you sir, kick ass."

  • RansomDenton, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It is now that I wonder can W make a correct decision? I know he must have I just get tired of trying to find one. How the mighty have fallen.
  • JJsays, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Maybe DHS can have a mutiny like the CIA did. And you all can cheer them on
  • defektiv, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1when is this fool going to learn to hire professional competence over loyalism? when is congress going to realize that EVERYTHING is confrontational to this jackassery of a president and just go after him?
  • dildoolielly, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Most corrupt president ever! Don't ever forget the morons who re-elected this idiot!

    Bush should just put a "for sale" sign on the white house lawn as I don't know of a single decision or bill passed in the favor of the common man. Logging and drilling in national parks, energy policy written by Ken Lay and Enron friends, bankruptcy bill written by MBNA and Caiptal One, a war started over lies that has only benefited Haliburton, on and on.

    You bushbot idiots are WORSE than Terrorists!
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