Guessing Game Results: We Almost Forgot About This One
...mostly because the response was so unthrilling. Here's the passage,from yet another SHAKE-UP-A-THON '06 story:
"It's really weird right now," says another senior White House official who likewise asked for anonymity. "People are worried about their jobs."
Three of you responded. Two of you with "George W. Bush." Here's the more substantial guess:
The key to this is the phrase "senior White House official". Some reporters will use this to describe the cleaning staff if they think it makes their story sound good, however, it usually applies to the President, VP, or an official who is titled as an "Assistant to the President". Deputy Assistants and Special Assistants are usually "White House officials" or "Administration officials".
Who is an "Assistant to the President"? ... [It] can vary as the President wishes but the following is a pretty good first cut: Chief of Staff, VP's Chief of Staff, Deputy Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor and his deputy, communication director, press secretary, staff secretary, head speechwriter, White House Counsel, director of personnel, and advisers for domestic policy and homeland security.
I am fairly certain Bush and Cheney are not going to fire themselves. Let's also assume that Josh Bolten is not going to fire himself, that Joel Kaplan is not complaining about a promotion, and that no one can fire Karl Rove. The press secretary can't be worried about getting fired since he already got the boot. Given all that, as Wonkette first postulated, Miers is a good guess. However, I'll go with Frances Townsend, the homeland security adviser. This is in keeping with my desire to see the hot chicks in the administration get more blog exposure, not due to any actual knowledge.
And hey, we'll drink to that. If you have another, better guess, go ahead and send it our way, though no guarantee we'll still care tomorrow. The other two responses, cheeky though they are, after the jump.
First Bush guess keeps it short and simple:
"It's Bush himself because it sounds like, you know, a teenage girl."
The second goes into a bit more detail, though we remain unconvinced:
"You chose the right quote, cuz this is a biggie, and the source is closer to the top than you might imagine.
"Deconstructing this quote, it could only come from someone who finds it "weird" that people would worry about, of all things, losing their jobs. This despite the administration's disastrous and still falling poll numbers, the endless - and egregious - string of policy failures and non-starters, and the stench of scandal permeating the West Wing and its satellite outposts. Clearly this puzzled - and puzzling - observation could only come from someone who has never in his life had to contemplate losing his job. NO MATTER HOW BADLY HE HAD F'd THINGS UP.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... our Commander in Chief. In all of his wide-eyed wonder."
Senior White House Official Guessing Game: When the Going Gets Weird...