GovernmentExecutive.com

Every once in a while, a career civil servant is thrust (or, more often, thrusts himself or herself) out of the murky depths of the bureaucracy and into the national spotlight. When this happens, the formerly anonymous official in question instantly becomes a hero, or villain -- or both. Think Coleen Rowley at the FBI after Sept. 11, or former Transportation Department inspector general Mary Schiavo after the ValuJet crash in Florida in 1996.

Such elevations are relatively rare and it's even more rare that they happen to two people at the same time. So it's worth pausing for a moment to examine Exhibits A and B of the latest incarnation of the trend: former counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke and Medicare actuary Richard Foster. They provide an object lesson in how -- and how not -- to step into the big, bright glare of politics.

Let's start with Clarke. He pushed himself into the spotlight the old-fashioned way: By writing a book, Against All Enemies (Free Press, 2004), on his years in counterterrorism. On March 21, Clarke went on "60 Minutes" to promote it, and the clock on his 15 minutes of fame started ticking. Clarke was highly critical of the Bush administration's approach to fighting terrorism, both before and after Sept. 11.

It didn't take long for the Bush administration to start using Clarke's 30 years in the federal service against him, insinuating that he was playing in the minor leagues. "He wasn't in the loop, frankly, on a lot of this stuff," Vice President Dick Cheney told Rush Limbaugh. "I suppose he may have a grudge to bear since he probably wanted a more prominent position than [National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice] was prepared to give him."

Clarke's appearance before the special Sept. 11 commission three days after his TV appearance and two days after his book hit the shelves was nearly drowned out by the administration's chorus of criticism. By Thursday, Time magazine had posted a story on its Web site noting differences between what Clarke was saying in promoting his book and details in the book itself. "While the discrepancies do not, on their own, discredit Clarke's larger arguments, they do raise questions about whether Clarke's eagerness to publicize his story and rip the Bush administration have clouded his memory of the facts," the magazine reported.

That's a fairly quick trip from heroic whistleblower to disgruntled opportunist. But such is life in the media-political zone. If a bureaucrat is to venture into such territory, he or she is well-advised to tread lightly, with no appearance of an ax to grind.

Which brings us to Richard Foster, who didn't write a book, or appear on "60 Minutes." He just calmly pointed out that his calculations last year showed that the administration's proposed prescription drug benefit for Medicare would cost more than $500 billion, not the $394 billion the Congressional Budget Office had estimated. But Foster said his old boss, former Medicare chief Tom Scully, told him he'd fire him if he shared the higher estimate with members of Congress debating the bill.

Foster seemed perfectly reasonable. He hadn't been passed over for a promotion, and wasn't trying to make a buck off of his revelations. He considered resigning in protest, but a Health and Human Services Department attorney told him that Scully had the authority to order him to withhold his figures.

Still, the Bush administration's point man on the growing controversy, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, couldn't simply ignore the insinuation that the Bush team had deliberately suppressed a key piece of information about a landmark bill. So he called a news conference and pointed the finger at Scully, who was conveniently already out of his job and had a reputation as a loose cannon. (Asked by reporters if Scully perhaps should have had some adult supervision, Thompson said, "You all know Tom Scully. Do you think that would have been possible?")

According to Foster, Thompson and Scully's replacement, Mark McClellan, now say he is free to respond to requests for information from Capitol Hill. Chalk that one up as one bureaucrat's victory in the political arena.

Post a Comment

To post a comment, you must provide a name and a valid e-mail address. Messages must be limited to 400 words. By using this Service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Government Executive does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.