The Shake Up Begins

This is breaking news and I'm sure there will be more to come. Ladies and gentlemen, the White House shake up has begun. From the Associated Press:

White House chief of staff Andy Card has resigned and will be replaced by budget director Josh Bolten, an administration official said Tuesday.

President Bush was expected to announce the shake up during a meeting with reporters later Tuesday morning in the Oval Office of the White House.

The move comes amid a sharp decline in Bush's approval ratings and calls from Republicans for the president to bring in new aides with fresh ideas and new energy.

Just keep in mind this is all for public relations purposes. This is all Karl Rove. Nothing will change. It's all about appearances. This is simply a way for George Bush to make it look like he is responsive to the people and their worries. Though I will say it is very interesting that Bush caved on this one. This is big news.

Read more.

Update: Bush may have caved, but he didn't venture too far from his bubble-boy-happy-place-comfort-zone. The Washington Post has more:

In picking Bolten to replace Card, the current President Bush stayed close to home. Resisting Republican advice to pick a seasoned Washington veteran the way Reagan brought in former Senate majority leader Howard H. Baker Jr. when his own presidency was listing in his second term, Bush characteristically picked someone he knows well and trusts implicitly.

Bush should just appoint his mommy for the job, you know that's what he really wants anyway.

Update II: And the Democrats weigh in. From the Associated Press:

"The good news is the administration has finally realized it needs to change its ways, but the problems go far deeper than one staffer," said Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y. "Simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic by replacing Andy Card with Josh Bolten without a dramatic change in policy will not right this ship." [Read More]

Great quote Chuck! Thanks to the Huffington Post for leading me to it.