Meet the 'Real Bush'

"FUND: Well, again, the press was reporting a lot of the leaks they're getting from inside the White House: people not satisfied there."

Bolten's Challenge

Deb Riechmann writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush's next chief of staff is the new broom in the White House and his task is clear: Do some housecleaning or, at least, raise some dust. . . .

"If Bush wanted an overhaul, he would have chosen someone other than Bolten, who is much like Andy Card, his quiet-spoken predecessor. Bolten is seen as reorganizing enough to re-energize the staff and give the perception the changes are more than symbolic. . . .

"Cheney is the real chief of staff in the White House, said Paul Light, presidential historian at New York University. 'I think his first question should be, 'How do I get Dick Cheney to return my phone calls?' "

Edmund L. Andrews writes in the New York Times: "In almost three years as Mr. Bush's budget chief, Mr. Bolten showed a knack for pushing the White House's financial agenda without alienating Republicans on Capitol Hill. As chief of staff starting in mid-April, he will have to employ that skill on a broader basis as he tries to reunify Republicans behind the administration and keep Mr. Bush's presidency from sinking into lame-duck status."

Alexis Simendinger writes for the National Journal that Bolten's considerable challenge is "to revive a White House that is built on Bush's personality and interests without necessarily compensating for the inevitable voids.

"One White House aide observed recently that whether it's habit or hubris, Bush prefers to state rather than debate. 'I hear him say it all the time: "This is what you need to understand," instead of asking, "What do you think I need to understand?" '

"Lawmakers of both parties and their aides on Capitol Hill tell reporters privately that they assume the dismissive treatment they get from Bush's team is learned from Bush himself."

Ken Herman writes for Cox News Service that "at the highest levels of the administration, there is not a hint of doubt about whether it has the right policies in place.

" 'Sprinting to the finish line' is the phrase tossed around in the building as the Bush team, with just under three years to go, vows unwavering allegiance to the policies and priorities of a president who doesn't do doubt, at least not publicly."

It's the Credibility, Stupid

Tom Raum writes for the Associated Press: "From Iraq to deficits, from immigration to port security, some of the most pointed criticism leveled at President Bush is coming from within his own party. Republicans these days are almost sounding like perennially divided Democrats.

"The rising GOP angst stems from Bush's deep slump in the polls and the growing unpopularity of the Iraq war.