Bush Administration Has ‘Struggled’ in Anthrax Response, Daily News Reports

As the anthrax crisis "escalates," Republican critics say that the Bush administration has "sometimes looked like a circular firing squad," the New York Daily News reports. One "highly placed Bush" source said, "The rookies are in charge of the anthrax piece, and they're making rookie mistakes" (DeFrank, New York Daily News, 10/25). The Washington Post reports that questions also are being raised about the administration's coordination of the anthrax investigation (Allen/Pianin, Washington Post, 10/25). A number of specific administration officials have faced criticism for their responses to the anthrax cases, including:

• HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson: Thompson has received "complaints" about a number of "missteps, miscues and misstatements" about anthrax, and some health officials have said that the Bush administration "would have been wise" to use a different spokesperson with a background in science (Pear, New York Times, 10/25). According to the New York Daily News, senior White House aides have become "increasingly unhappy" with Thompson, whose "rambling style comes across as anything but reassuring" (New York Daily News, 10/25).
• Office of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge: Ridge has "orchestrated a flurry of appearances" to "quell criticism" that Bush administration officials "lack a unified plan" to address the increasing number of anthrax incidents, but lawmakers have said that he "needs more direct authority, a bigger staff and a fatter budget" to "be effective in the long run." Ridge serves as the White House's "chief messenger and troubleshooter" on bioterrorism but does not have "technical operational authority" over government agencies with homeland defense duties (Washington Post, 10/25). In addition, he has "made his share of goofs" and misstatements (New York Daily News, 10/25).
• U.S. Postmaster General John Potter: Potter, who "occasionally stumbles" over words and has an "unpolished persona," has not had a "seamless performance" in his response to the recent anthrax cases. He has been "roundly criticized" for his decision not to test postal employees at a Washington, D.C., mail sorting facility that handled an anthrax-contaminated letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). However, others praise Potter as a "reassuring 'average Joe'" (White, Washington Post, 10/25).

'We Were Wrong'
Bush administration officials "admitted that they were slow to respond to the threat," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Surgeon General David Satcher "bluntly confessed" that officials "were wrong" not to test Washington, D.C., postal workers who were exposed to anthrax. "This is new for us, we've never been through a bioterrorist attack before," Satcher said. "I'm worried that we're being attacked and we don't fully understand the attack," he added (Coile/Squatriglia, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/25).