You're right about the political hot potato. X42 placed the equivalent of a political improvised explosive device every place he could.
President Bush took office in a country with an economy in recession, that was soon to experience a terrorist attack on our soil and have two wars to fight. The broader WOT introduced further complications. In addition to the customary duties of the POTUS, he has had to try to ferret out and correct this 'stuff' imposed on our country compliments of eight years of the X42 administration. Has all the 'stuff' been found? Who knows. This President has done an extraordinary job under the most difficult circumstances.
Following is a link to a Time Magazine article two days after President Bush's inauguration that quotes John Podesta in a moment of humor and boastfulness.. The article provides interesting reading, especially in retrospect.
One morning at the nub end of Bill Clinton's presidency, Clinton chief of staff John Podesta walked into a senior staff meeting in the Roosevelt Room waving a copy of USA Today. Holding the paper aloft, Podesta read the headline out loud, "Clinton actions annoy Bush." The article detailed the new rules and Executive Orders the outgoing President was issuing in his final days, actions aimed in equal measure at locking in Clinton's legacy (in areas like environmental protection) and bedeviling his successor. "What's Bush so annoyed about?" Podesta asked with a devilish smile. "He's got four years to try to undo all the stuff we've done."