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"If you don't agree with the President and you work for him you keep your mouth shut."

Why? The only reason I can see for that rule is if the President lacks confidence in his own judgement, or lacks the maturity to live with criticism. It makes sense for a President like Clinton or Carter, but Reagan or Bush don't need to be coddled in that type of cotton-wool.

I suspect, that W., coming from a management background, doesn't care a flip. His style is to bring people from a diversity of backgrounds with strong opinions together, and let the solution come from the clash of ideas. That is one reason why his solutions are so much stronger than those of Clinton -- or on the Republican side, Nixon.

If Colin Powell disagrees on affirmative action or abortion, so what? Powell is Secretary of State, not Secretary of Education or Surgeon General. (You will notice that Paige agrees with the President on affirmative action.)

As we have seen, Bush does not care what his subordinates believe, only what they do. He cleaned house in the Treasury, not because those guys did not agree with him, but rather because they did not carry out the policies Bush mandated. Similarly, so long as Powell executes Bush's policies at State, his personal opinions are his to have.