Archivist's Resignation

The Washington Post loves quoting impartial sources. Archivists's Resignation Questioned.

Archivist of the United States John W. Carlin was pushed by the White House in December to submit his resignation without being given any reason, Senate Democrats disclosed last week at a hearing to consider President Bush's nomination of his successor.

After being asked to resign in December, National Archivist John Carlin wrote to Sen Carl Levin (D-Mich) to whine that "he would like to remain in his post for four more months" ostensibly to complete a project. (And hope that Kerry would win the election.)

Impartial themselves, the Washington Post fails to mention that Carlin was a highly partisan Democrat governor who ran Clinton's campaign in Kansas. They seem to have forgotten, too, that Carlin isn't without his detractors among them the even more highly partisan John Dean of Watergate fame.

Dean wrote:

The law also says that the President must appoint the Archivist "without regard to political affiliations and solely on the basis of the professional qualifications required to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of Archivist."

Clinton didn't follow this provision: Carlin was a former Democratic governor of Kansas with no archival experience. Neither has Bush. Allen Weinstein is hardly a political neutral. Although he is a registered Democrat, he has close ties with conservative Republicans, and has become something of a champion of their
Cold War views.

Both Presidents ought to be faulted for politicizing our nation's archival records and our history. And Clinton's wrong does not create a precedent for Bush to follow.

Joseph Farah of WorldnetDaily wrote in 1999.

Most people have no idea who the national archivist is.

His name is John W. Carlin, the former governor of Kansas, who got the very political appointment in 1995 over the objections of some historians and researchers who believed the job should go to a professional with some qualifications in the area. In fact, 16 organizations, including the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History, opposed Carlin's nomination -- something of a surprise. I don't remember hearing a word about this tempest in a teapot. His nomination was approved without debate or roll call in the Senate as part of a consent motion that included seven other presidential nominees.

Now, it turns out, Carlin and Sandy Berger will hold in their hands the ability, on behalf of the president, to get federal files -- even classified documents -- on just about anybody for any reason.

As a Lucianne poster pointed out. "Is this the guy that contacted Bruce Lindsay instead of the FBI when he witnessed Berger stealing archives? "