Who Is Josh Bolten?

(And, yes, spell it with an “e”.)

By Christy Harvey, American Progress
Tuesday March 28, 2006

President Bush announced on Tuesday the resignation of his chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr. He will be replaced by Joshua Bolten, a long-time Bush confidante and currently the budget director.

Yes, we all know Josh Bolten, the public figure. He’s the White House insider who seamlessly moved from Deputy Chief of Staff to head of the Office of Management and Budget in 2003 (where he watched as the federal debt grew from $6.8 trillion to the current $8.4 trillion.) But here are some things you might not know about President Bush’s new Chief of Staff:

He’s The Son Of An Undercover CIA Agent: Bolten’s dad worked in the CIA’s covert espionage arm; as a kid, Bolten was instructed to tell people Daddy worked at the Defense Department. We’re assuming he’ll be left out of any upcoming White House Valerie Plame Cover-up meetings…

He’s the White House Link to the Jewish World: ‘’He’s the explainer of all things Jewish to the White House,’’ according to Karl Rove in 2003.

He’s The “Sweet” One: Low-key. Self-effacing. News reports commend Bolten for his “discretion, organizational ability, political sophistication.” But he’s also the dorky kid, described as not “outgoing, athletic and gregarious.” Perhaps we should turn to Number One Fan Karl Rove again for a description: “I’d use the word ‘sweet’ if it didn’t make me look odd,” says Rove.

He Loves His Hog: Bolten is known for being the guy with the Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He’s so attached that he shipped one to Crawford, TX, so he could ride when he visits the president on vacation. His biker handle? “Bad Mitzvah,” of course. (We’re serious about that. Can you believe we didn’t make that one up?)

He’s The Slightly Creepy One: Bolten is known for his loyalty to the president. But there’s allegience and then there’s ALLEGIENCE. The New York Times in 2003 casually mentioned that, in his West Wing office, Bolten displayed a “series of photographs of Mr. Bush’s hands.” Shudddddder. That’s a lit-tle too Kevin Spacey in Se7en for us.

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Comments
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1. I am consistently gratified and shaken with laughter by your site’s great writers. Pictures of Bush’ hands? Thanks for an image I’ll never be able to get out of my head!

   — Louise Taliesin - Apr 1, 12:57 PM - #
   
   

2. What does he do with the real hands

   — knute f. dobkins - Apr 2, 12:25 PM - #
   
   

3. You said that “The New York Times in 2003 casually mentioned that, in his West Wing office, Bolten displayed a “series of photographs of Mr. Bush’s hands.” Shudddddder.”
   I read the article you linked to, and it mentions no such thing. What’s up with that???

   — Homer - Apr 19, 03:26 PM - #
   
   

4. Josh Bolten if liberal whould
   be bragged about by every
   Jewish publication out there
   but since he doesn’t work for a democrat nobody knows him..

   — Ed Sacks - Oct 5, 10:03 AM - #