Fran Townsend will say goodbye to the White House after 4 1/2 years of service. Although there was no reason given for her resignation, Bush indicated it was an amicable parting and expressed his admiration for her.

“Fran always has provided wise counsel on how best to protect the American people from the threat of terrorism. She has been a steady leader in the effort to prevent and disrupt attacks and to better respond to natural disasters.”

You will remember Fran Townsend as the “face” of the administration’s counterterrorism arm. She was the one to make the morning news programs and Sunday talking head rounds. She defended and explained President Bush’s use of the term “Islamic Fascist” in the midst of controversy that it was offensive to Muslims, she also assured California, and the nation, that the federal government response to the wild fires would be much better than that to Katrina. (On a side note: Of course it would, it was wealthy white home owners displaced in the wildfires.)

Fran Townsend

This is just the latest departure of Bush’s crew. Before Townsend; of course, Rove, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Tony Snow, and Dan Bartlett also parted ways with the administration, many of them amid swirling controversies. It leads me to wonder exactly what Ms. Townsend is fleeing, if anything.

Bush hasn’t commented on her successor so we can only hope that it will be someone qualified for the position.

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