Few American presidents can have received the same advice so consistently from so many different quarters as George W. Bush. And few can so consistently have ignored it. Whether from conservative allies on Capitol Hill and in the Weekly Standard, the neo-con house journal, or from liberal critics in the Democratic party and the opinion columns of the New York Times, it has been strikingly similar: overhaul your tired and discredited administration.

Given Mr Bush's well-advertised disregard for the opinions of those outside his fiercely loyal inner circle, it is not surprising that the president has ignored such counsel. The latest manifestation of his imperviousness occurred at 8.30am on Tuesday when Mr Bush bade farewell to Andrew Card, White House chief of staff since 2001, and welcomed Joshua Bolten, head of the office of management and budget.