Devine Judgment

At Exacting Editor, Don Devine, the political scientist who had a controversial tenure as head of the Office of Personnel Managment under President Reagan, offers some surprisingly critical reflections on the Bush administration:

• "[Bush people] they managed the government by getting political people who would follow the Bush line -- which might seem to be what I'm saying. The difference was the absence of a coherent philosophy."
• The main lesson[of Iraq] is one that George W. Bush originally said himself: You can't `nation-build.' That's number one. Number two, you should be careful getting in. No matter how weak the opposition looks, they're a lot stronger once you are dealing with them [on the ground].
• When editor Frank Gregorsky asked who was the better president, Bush or Clinton, Devine said: "Bill Clinton."