President Clinton's new chief of staff, Leon Panetta, sent an early and unmistakable signal that he intends to wield a firm hand over a White House often criticized as being disorganized.
Panetta told senior aides at a regular morning meeting that he didn't want anyone to comment on the standing of Roger Altman, the embattled deputy treasury secretary, after Clinton issued a statement supporting him.Anyone who disobeyed, Panetta said, would be fired.
The blunt warning wasn't the kind of message White House aides were accustomed to hearing during the 19-month stewardship
of Mack McLarty, Clinton's old Arkansas chum who was nicknamed "Mack the Nice."
Three weeks after Panetta moved into his spacious West Wing office, there are ample signs he'll be a tougher manager than McLarty.
Panetta has tightened access to the Oval Office; he demands a first look at all presidential decision briefings and action memos; he's cut back on Clinton's photo opportunities; and he plans to present the president in more formal set-tings to sharpen the White House's focus.
Panetta's wife, Sylvia, who managed his congressional office, has moved into his White House suite as an unpaid assistant to help organize the office.
White House communications chief Mark Gearan said there is "an awful lot of change in the way things operate here."
Amid the procedural changes, White House aides are nervously awaiting a major staff shakeup. Joan Baggett, the political director, is expected to leave, perhaps to be replaced by Gearan.
White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers' job is said to be endangered. Her allies hope that rather than be replaced, Myers will be given more access and authority so she can perform her job better. Ricki Seidman, head of presidential scheduling, also is expected to leave her job.
The first personnel change engineered by Panetta was to give former congressman Tony Coelho, a seasoned politician, a senior role in the Democratic Party's election-year planning. After the November elections, David Wilhelm will step down as party chairman.
Panetta also helped recruit federal appeals court judge Abner Mikva to take over as White House counsel, succeeding Lloyd Cutler, who had accepted the job only on a short-term basis.
Some White House aides grumble privately that Panetta is aggravating staff anxiety by delaying most of his personnel decisions. He's not expected to make major changes until - at the earliest - after the House and Senate vote on health care legislation later this month.
Panetta wants to strengthen the administration as it heads into the fall election season, with Democrats fearing major losses in both the House and the Senate.
Another problem is that despite the improving economy, Clinton has slipped sharply in the polls. The president has complained bitterly that he's not getting the credit he deserves, in large part because of what he believes is mistreatment by the news media.