#51 to reinforce what Alexis is saying:

A reminder that the size of the White House staff exploded from the 60 under Bush to the 160 under Obama. More people wanting to be “chiefs and not indians,” more hoops to jump through, more confusion and morale problems at various cabinet-level agencies whose decision-making process has been stunted or compromised, or countermanded by someone in the White House.

Even little agencies, like the one I contract to, are trying to do more and more and more, and have tripled the numbers lawyers in the general counsels office for no discernible good reason at all. More and more meetings, more and more e-mails and more and more projects, and more and more beffudlement and exhaustion. There is little time left over to do actual stuff of substance, what with all the new ideas and initiatives being tossed into the mix. And again, too many chiefs and not enough indians: whereas before we could do our tasks and meet our goals largely unfettered, we now have to go through an increasingly longer gauntlet of naysayers, quibblers, and downright ignoramuses.