[cyncooper]

Ultimately, Bush has to blame himself for this damage: he should never have kept Wilson (or any of the rest of Clinton's cronies).

Wilson has never had a position in this Bush administration.

He was sent by a sub-group of the CIA on their own initiative, not even at Tenet's behest, and that's what led to the "why was Joe Wilson sent?" and the infamous answer: "His wife suggested his name".

[SpyGuy]

Thanks for setting me straight on Wilson *not* being a Clinton holdover in the Bush Administration (unlike so many others).

Still, I would argue that if Bush had replaced most of the senior positions held by Clinton appointees, then a fiasco like this would have been less likely to have occured. In essence, Wilson was sent because of two reasons: 1) No one close to this situation was watching Bush's back; and 2) There were still plenty of people in power that were intent on putting a knife in Bush's back.