So what if the Senate is blocking appointments? Bush still has to fire these partisan slimebags, and do it now. They are all over the State Department, the Defense Department, the FBI, the INS, the judiciary, the US Attorney's Offices, and virtually everywhere else. It's intolerable, and he certainly isn't drawing a whole lot of praise from the media for his restraint or nonpartisanship or whatever you want to call it.
It's probably his single worst mistake, leaving all these political saboteurs in place.
That would appear to be the case. However Bush has sandbagged the left over and over (Adarand is the latest). I'm no expert but I have no doubt there are some freeper spooks around who might say the best thing to do is leave the people you know are rotten in place. For a while.
Texans play to win, they are not much concerned with pleasing the crowd or racking up points. When it is all over, they want all the chips.