More on the Price of Loyalty
page 208, after O'Neill has been forthright in the press concerning his contact with Ken Lay immediately prior to the Enron meltdown. Kessler's piece in the WP:
His zest for combative language and his zeal for new ideas has made him a favorite of President Bush, though hsi style has rankled some officials.
--snip--
"The president likes his big thinking, even when it's way out of his realm of responsibility," said a senior White House official directly involved in policymaking. "The chemistry between him and the president is very good."
Translation: O'Neill has been innoculated in the Enron debacle, and we're rubbing the Prez up against him, hoping that the vaccine is catching. There is an interoffice rivalry (which shows that the President is in charge, makes tough decisions, and provides leadership) in which O'Neill, who let's not forget is smelling like a rose at the moment, has an advantage - so moderates & fiscal hawks shouldn't worry overmuch about Larry Lindsey and the like. But O'Neill exceeds his brief, may be overly influential, and is unnecessarily "combative". The President likes him personally, and he's doing a good job right now, but he may have to go.
At least that's what I get out of it. But then, I've got hindsight helping me.
Now what gets me about this is that O'Neill is not reported in this book as wondering why a senior policymaker gave this quote, and why he did it anonymously. He just takes it and says "I think someone finally got it." He doesn't wonder who said it - whether they are a friend or foe, to what purpose the people he knows are forming a kind of Praetorian Guard around Bush wanted this quote given out. He asks those sorts of questions about other news stories, but not this one. Too bad, really.