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More on Dubya, Reyn Archer, and the Commissioner of Love

Timothy NoahPosted Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2000, at 4:32 PM ET

Are you open to your brokenness? Apparently Dr. William Reynolds "Reyn" Archer is. Archer, the son of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, was recruited by George W. Bush in 1997 to be Texas health commissioner. Reyn, a New-Agey, Christian-right ob/gyn, got himself put on leave by babbling to his African-American "Commissioner of Love" about how she needed to be open to her brokenness in the same way that a black Mississippi washerwoman photographed by Annie Leibovitz was open to her brokenness. (To read Chatterbox's earlier item explaining why Archer had a Commissioner of Love, and summarizing previous Archer misadventures, click here. To read the breathtakingly weird transcript of Archer's conversation with his Commissioner of Love, who, after getting fired, filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and leaked her clandestinely recorded tape of the conversation to the Houston Chronicle, click here.) Now, having finally lost Dubya's loyal support (and after editorial prompting by the Austin American-Statesman), Archer has resigned.

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Today's Houston Chronicle puts Archer's resignation on Page One, but the Washington Post and New York Times and the Los Angeles Times all give it the quick-squib treatment, and the Wall Street Journal doesn't carry it at all. Chatterbox questions the national press' wisdom in downplaying this story. (Are they open to their brokenness?) Aside from being rip-roaringly entertaining--you really have to read this transcript to believe it--the Reyn Archer saga speaks to Dubya's ability to compensate for his own lack of policy smarts by appointing capable leaders to key cabinet posts. The more you look at Reyn Archer, the more you wonder precisely what it was that recommended him to Dubya, aside from the obvious fact of his being a legacy pledge. (In addition to being Bill Archer's offspring, Reyn was deputy assistant secretary for health in Bush pere's Health and Human Services department.) The urgency of this question is magnified by Bush's tendency to take a passive stance toward his appointees once they assume office, as described by T. Christian Miller in an Oct. 8 story in the Los Angeles Times. Would the governing principle of Dubya's presidential appointments be "any old friend of so-and-so is a friend of mine"? This would seem at least as important a story as the daily on-scene reports we're getting of Al Gore and George W. Bush painting the toenails of undecided voters.

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Timothy Noah is a senior writer at Slate.

COMMENTS

Reader Comment from The Fray:

After reading the transcript of Reyn Archer's discussion with his subordinate, I think it is not fair to conclude he is a racist, certainly not in the way he has been portrayed in the media. He is an absolute dunce as a manager and way too self-absorbed in his view of himself as a teacher. I don't regret that he is gone. He should never have been there and that does speak to whether Bush will be able to properly staff the executive wing. He should not, however, be pilloried as a racist.

--Jim Mayo

(To reply, click here.)

To Jim Mayo:

At one time I may have agreed with you. However, the Republicans, aided by the media, have forever changed the climate in this country. I don't know Mr Archer and I truly don't know if he is a racist or not, but he is as much "fair game" as anyone else .One cannot expect to use every rumor and speculation as a talking point, and then exclaim when the tables are turned on them. I expect to see things get meaner and I don't believe any rock will be left unturned. Accusations and resignations are our future.

--Patricia Row

(To reply, click here.)

The whole Reyn Archer mess just proves that W. is comfortable in the company of his fellow idjits. I mean, if he wanted to hang around smart people, he'd have wanted more debates with Al Gore. Just as Reagan brought us such heavyweights as Ed Meese and James Watt, Reyn Archer is the future administration, folks.

--Mike G

(To reply, click here.)

(10/28)

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