Bush now needs aides who speak their minds.

(From Irish Independent)

IN an incident that is now legendary in Washington, when George W Bush's father occupied the White House and was dithering about what to do with his unpopular chief-of-staff it was his "hard-charging" eldest son who took charge.

George senior was rather reluctant to face up to the inadequacies of his top aide. George Junior, however, displayed no such compunction: John Sununu was shown the door; the White House was re-energised; and a key element of the "Dubya man-of-action" myth had been born.

Fourteen years later, once again a White House is badly in need of a new broom. Even before last week's double disaster - the final humiliating collapse of the president's attempt to instal a friend and aide to the Supreme Court and the indictment of Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, a top adviser, on perjury and other charges over a CIA leak scandal - it was clear Mr Bush had run out of steam. His big ideas had fallen flat. Unfortunately, however, for America's worried forces of conservatism, it is hard to see who is going to play the role of Bush junior this time round.

This may prove to be Bush's 'Iran-Contra', a reference to the scandal that dogged and weakened Ronald Reagan's second term. But even the political junkies in the Beltway have found it hard to follow the narrative of 'Plame-gate', as the row over the outing of the CIA spy Valerie Plame has inevitably become known. So it seems safe to predict the heartland will not be buzzing over 'Scooter's' misdeeds.

There is something faintly absurd in the idea that the nerve centre of ...