Who's who.

• Author: Threadgill, Susan

Traditionally, the second November of any presidential administration is when new talent begins to cycle in and old hands start to cycle out--or get forced out. So who among the Bush administration might be heading back to the private sector this fall? Within the White House, speculation centers around congressional lobbyist Nicholas Calio and chief of staff Andy Card. Calio was a last-choice pick for the post back in 2001, while Card loves telling reporters how the average tenure for chiefs of staff is 18 months, a mark he'll reach this fall. (It didn't help when Card recently let slip a few swipes at Karl Rove to Esquire's Ron Suskind.) Another possibility is domestic policy adviser Margaret LaMontagne, a Texas-era Bush loyalist who's regarded as something of a lightweight. Among cabinet secretaries, everyone' s favorite whipping boy is gaffe-prone Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. But the truth, one White House reporter says, is that "there's almost no cabinet secretary that isn't rumored to be unhappy and wanting to go" EPA administrator Christie Whitman, HHS secretary Tommy Thompson, and Education Secretary Rod Paige have been constantly overruled by the White House and cut out of the policy loop on major decisions. Mel Martinez seems to have spent more time in Florida campaigning for Jeb Bush than he has running HUD. Even Colin Powell is rumored to be threatening to quit. Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta has also been under tire lately, for embarrassing the White House officials by getting them to oppose a proposal to arm airline pilots, only to watch the measure quickly gain bipartisan support in Congress. And congressional appropriators are furious with Mineta for blaming the new Transportation Security Agency's slow progress on a lack of funding, when it was Mitch Daniels, the administration's own budget guru, who had signed off on recent cuts for TSA. There's only one hitch: Mineta is the only Democrat in the cabinet, which may keep him safe.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and his posse may need to watch out--there's a new sheriff in town. New US. Attorney for Northern Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald is the first out-of-towner with no Chicago connections or loyalty ever to hold the post. Nominated by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.--and no relation), Patrick Fitzgerald has a reputation for being an apolitical corruption-hunter with impeccable morals. Rumor has it that Illinois GOP leaders who have been in a blood feud with Daley for...