Opinion: White House Exits Normal? Not By a Long Shot

(Oct. 13) -- It has become a mantra in the news media these days to include in every story about the departure of another high-level Obama White House official the cautionary declaration that "it is normal for appointees to leave after a president's first two years."

The unspoken message here is that this is not a case of rats deserting a sinking ship, it's just routine housecleaning.

But just how "normal" is it for a slew of high-ranking White House appointees to leave in the first two years?

You don't have to look back too far to discover that, in fact, it's not so "normal" after all.

National Security Adviser. Obama's national security adviser, James Jones, is leaving before his two years are out. This is definitely not the norm.

George W. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, lasted four years, and left only then to become secretary of state. Bill Clinton's first national security adviser, Anthony Lake, also served four years, as did George H.W. Bush's pick, Brent Scowcroft, and Jimmy Carter's, Zbigniew Brzezinski.

In fact, of the last five presidents, the only first national security adviser to leave after fewer than two years was Ronald Reagan appointee Richard V. Allen.

Chief of Staff. Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has left to run for Chicago mayor. This too isn't normal by modern standards.

George W. Bush's chief of staff, Andrew Card, stayed five years. Bush's father's chief of staff, John Sununu, lasted nearly three years. Ronald Reagan's first chief of staff, James Baker, stayed on four years and then became treasury secretary. Bill Clinton, however, dumped his first chief of staff, Mack McLarty, after 20 months in a staff shakeup -- replacing him with Leon Panetta. (Jimmy Carter didn't have a chief of staff in his first two years in office.)

Budget Director. Obama budget director Peter Orszag left the administration after only 18 months on the job, which is also sooner than other recent budget directors.

George W. Bush's first budget director, Mitchell Daniels, now governor of Indiana, left after 2 1/2 years. The elder Bush's budget director, Richard Darman, served four years. Reagan's budget chief, David Stockman, stayed nearly four years. Bill Clinton's first budget director, Panetta, moved down the hall to chief of staff after serving about 20 months in the budget post as part of the staff shakeup.

Council of Economic Advisers. This is more of a mixed bag. Obama's chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, left in September, just 20 months into the first term. That's how long Reagan's first chairman, Murray Weidenbaum, lasted. But George H.W. Bush's first council chairman, Michael Boskin, stayed four years. And his son's first chairman, R. Glenn Hubbard, served 21 months. Clinton's appointee, Laura Tyson, served two years-plus, but she didn't leave the administration, she instead went on to become chair of the National Economic Council, a promotion.

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National Economic Council. This is the only post where the Obama White House fits the trend. Obama's NEC head, Larry Summers, is leaving after two years. Clinton created this post, and his first NEC head, Robert Rubin, left after two years to be come treasury secretary -- another promotion. George W. Bush's chief, Larry Lindsey, also left after two years.

So, while two-year departures of economic advisers might be normal, that's not the case chiefs of staff, budget directors and national security advisers.

Clearly a lot more is happening inside the Obama White House than insiders are willing to admit.

And rather than blithely accept the White House's spin, the media should be digging in to find out the real reasons for all the top administration officials heading for the White House exists.

Richard Benedetto is a retired USA Today White House correspondent and columnist. He now teaches journalism and politics at American and Georgetown universities.