Bush's Youth Movement

Kyle Sampson, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General of the United States. Age, 37.

Monica Goodling, Director of Public Affairs for the United States Justice Department. Age, 33.

Sara Taylor, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Political Affairs at the White House. Age, 32.

Why are all these senior positions filled by such young employees? Some would even call them kids. For two simple reasons -- kids are more impressionable and they don't know any better.

It's the same reason why all people who want to bend the law start with a youth movement. Because the young don't know how "it's supposed to be done." They are more ready to take orders and change the ways things are, partly because they don't even know what they're changing.

Monica Goodling said at one point in her testimony about a conversation she had with Attorney General Gonzales, "I didn't know that it was maybe appropriate for us to talk about that." Baby, you weren't supposed to know.

It's not that the Bush administration couldn't find experienced people -- it's that they didn't want to. An experienced lawyer might object when you tell her to use political considerations to hire and fire attorneys at the Justice Department. An experienced lawyer can spot a violation of the Hatch Act or the FISA law or the War Crimes Act. An inexperienced lawyer who is thrilled to have such a great job at such a young age will do as they are told.

Then, they will come in front of Congress and cry about how they didn't know any better. And to some extent they are right. That is precisely why they were hired in the first place.

Throw in the fact that the administration hired mainly religiously devout followers and it makes their job even easier. The devout are taught from an early age that you respect your elders and you follow orders. Don't question; have faith in what you are told. Perfect. Unquestioning, faithful, dependent and inexperienced -- Karl Rove couldn't ask for anything more. He specifically didn't want anything more.

The Young Turks