Andy Card 'steps down'

[mburbank]

Or got the ax, depending on how you read the tea leaves.

Less than a week after W said he had no intention of bowing to pressure for any sort of staff shake up, his Chief of staff takes the long walk. At least their not saying it's coincidental and eh wants to spend more time with his family.

The official line is that this was cards idea, and that may well be true, but it does prove that somebody in the whitehouse is capable of recognizing heat when he feels it.

I can't see this changing much of anything, but it is interesting to see that at some level they are not totally deaf to their party or the national mood.