Since the revelation that Van Jones (formerly the White House “green jobs czar”) is a wacko, people have wondering how his appointment passed the vetting process. Now we have the answer; the White House doesn’t vet its czars:
Van Jones, the Obama green jobs czar who resigned shortly after midnight Sunday, did not fill out the exhaustive questionnaire White House officials required of every Cabinet-level secretary and deputy-secretary position.
An administration official said special advisers to the president, or czars, are not required to fill out the questionnaire that runs 7 pages and contains 63 questions.
The entire questionnaire, the official said, is reserved for appointees who must win Senate confirmation.
This is pretty amazing. I would have thought that vetting would be an essential part of the process of filling the executive branch, to make sure that its staff are honest and non-crazy. Apparently, the White House does not see it that way. They only vet appointments that will face Senate scrutiny.
I only see two explanations for this. The administration either (1) doesn’t care whether its staff are honest and non-crazy, or (2) is incompetent. Is there a #3 that I’m missing?
UPDATE: Okay, option #3 is they are lying. I should have thought of that.
UPDATE: The American Spectator is reporting that Jones was hired despite objections from the White House Counsel’s office. I’d take that with a grain of salt until it’s confirmed somewhere else. (Via Hot Air.)
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