[TheWriterInTexas]

There are a great many positions that are not appointments, but folks who remain on from administration to administration.

Don't jump the gun and claim this was a "Bush appointee" until you have all the facts. This could be a career civil servant (or civil servants), for all we know, who hate Bush.

[pepsionice]

To have two major screw-ups (both the recovery and the honors)? In both cases, the military individuals involved (on the recovery team and with the honor guard) should have questioned the orders given. They didn't. Both violate standards acceptted and written down. The media will cover the Dean angle for about a week...cutting him down...but eventually, they will come back around and start asking questions to the administration. I stand by my original comment....both individuals need to be fired. This was wrong to turn this into a political event....either to hurt Bush or to hurt Dean.