An Oxymoron in the White House

A Russian Spy at NSA

Although it appeared only as a footnote to my 2006 pre-Snowden expose of government eavesdropping, I exhibited astonishment that someone named Hayden could be nominated as the Director of Central Intelligence or the Director of the National Security Agency.  I finally decided to let them get away with it.  The spelling is slightly different, after all. 

Believe it or Not

Today I read about a new government nomination which engendered astonishment anew.  The white house press secretary, Jay Carney, announced his resignation.  Although I haven't followed Carney's pronouncements closely — well, at all — one assumes that as the mouthpiece of the administration, he can be believed some of the time and can be counted on for circumlocution and misdirection for the rest.  No surprise; just business as usual.  But with Carney's deputy being tapped as his replacement, it would seem that the administration is tacitly announcing the ambivalence of the press secretary's role.  The deputy's name?  Josh Earnest.