It's out-the-door Pat, rather than good job Pat

A revolution has taken place in the Bush administration.

Instead of the usual pat-on-the-back ("good job Pat") Pat Philbin, the man who oversaw public affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency last week when the agency held a fake news conference about the California wildfires will no longer take over as head of public relations for Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, a job he was scheduled to move into yesterday. In fact it seems that instead of the usual Bush administration pat on the back when someone screws up Philbin has been fired (or possibly submitted his resignation).

The other possible explanation, of course, is that Philbin wasn't a Bush crony so he was expendable in an attempt to tamp down the effects of the bizarre press conference.

Although as we know phony reporters at press conferences is hardly out-of-character for the Bush administration. We all remember, a reporter named Jeff Gannon, who turned up at White House briefings and press conferences for more than two years, where he asked decidedly pro-Bush questions. It, of course, turned out that "Jeff Gannon" was really Jim Guckert, a reporter for a website called "Talon News," which was associated with the online group GOPUSA. com, owned by Texas Republicans.