Lots of talk about “czars” lately. Wikipedia’s page on the topic includes an “incomplete” list of presidential czars. It also has a chart that says that Bush had 35 czars, Obama 32. I have heard multiple references to Bush having far less, so I have found this page interesting. (The discussion page did little to eliminate the confusion.) Keep in mind we’re talking about Wikipedia here, which means it is an interesting and fairly comprehensive, but not completely trustworthy source.
Flawed and incomplete as this page is, it sill yields some interesting comparisons between our current President and his predecessor. According to Wikipedia:
* The most simultaneous czars that Bush had was in 2005 or 2006, when he had 23. He had 11 in his first year as President. Obama currently has 32 czars simultaneously.
* I counted 30 total “czar” positions for Bush, not 35 like they have in their chart. For some, the same position was filled by more than one person, but only once simultaneously.
* CZARS BUSH HAD THAT OBAMA DOES NOT: Abstinence, Bioethics, Bird Flu, Birth Control, Budget, Cleanup, Communications, Democracy, Domestic Policy, Food Safety, Global AIDS, Health IT, Health for WTC, Homeland Security, Homelessness, Gulf Coast Reconstruction, Manufacturing, Policy, Public Diplomacy, Reading, and War.
* CZARS OBAMA HAS THAT BUSH DID NOT: AfPak (Afghanistan and Pakistan), Auto, Auto Recovery, Borders, Climate, Compensation, Domestic Violence, Economic, Energy/Climate, Great Lakes, Green Jobs, Guantanamo Base Closure, Healthcare, Information, Iran, Middle East, Performance, Technology, Urban Affairs, Weapons, Weapons of Mass Distruction, and Weatherization.
* Of Bush’s total 30 czar positions, 12 were approved by the Senate. Of Obama’s 32 current czar position, 8 have been approved by the Senate.
We certainly seem preoccupied with the Middle East and disinterested in North Korea, don’t we?
Hey Obama, too many chefs spoil the soup.