Free Republic

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2006 – With a stroke of Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson's pen here today, all 15 U.S. Cabinet secretaries have now signed a joint statement in support of the Defense Department's Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve organization. Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson (right) became the last of the 15 U.S. Cabinet secretaries to sign a joint Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve statement of support. Thomas F. Hall (left), assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, delivered remarks during the April 14 ceremony. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

President Bush keeps his cabinet and other top people on a short leash--or tries to. Here's why some appointees succeed and others don't--plus, how the current Bushies have done so far. AFTER THE OVAL OFFICE, the most impressive chamber in the White House is the Cabinet Room. High-backed leather chairs, each engraved with the name of a Cabinet secretary, ring a massive oval mahogany table. The men and women who oversee the vast federal bureaucracy can sit there and gaze out at the Rose Garden. If appearances count, this should be the power center of the executive branch. But as...