Punching the Ticket: Those White House Vacancies

They come across the transom, a flood of personnel announcements from the White House almost every night, about new employees walking through the front door while many others are leaving out the back.

A few months ago a lobbyist for a D.C. law firm named Covington & Burling came aboard as deputy director of public liaison. Why would a guy with a good job leave his law practice to work for the White House for six months in the waning days of the Bush administration? William B. Wichterman sent word through the White House press office that he "greatly admired" the president and "welcomed the opportunity to come work for him."

All that may be true. And then there's the resume. Always looks better with a line item about serving in the White House-- even if the occupant is a lameduck.

-- Johanna Neuman