Dan Bartlett
Encyclopedia
Counselor to the President
The Counselor to the President is the highest-ranking assistant to the President of the United States for communications, and a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. In the administration of George W. Bush, the Counselor oversaw the Communications, Media Affairs,...
in the Bush administration. The position was previously held by Karen Hughes
Karen Hughes
Karen Parfitt Hughes is the Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State with the rank of ambassador. She resides in Austin, Texas.-Early life:Born in Paris, France, she is the daughter...
, who vacated the post in 2002. On June 1, 2007, he announced his resignation and that he would be leaving the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on July 5, 2007. He was replaced by Ed Gillespie
Ed Gillespie
Edward W. Gillespie is an American Republican political strategist and former Counselor to the President in the George W. Bush White House. Gillespie, along with Jack Quinn, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Al Gore, founded Quinn Gillespie & Associates, a bipartisan lobbying firm...
.
Personal
Bartlett is a graduate of Rockwall High SchoolRockwall High School
Rockwall High School is a high school that is part of the Rockwall Independent School District located in Rockwall, Texas. The mission statement of Rockwall High School is "Rockwall High School values quality education and strives to be an exemplary school by providing students with the tools...
(class of 1989) and the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
Bartlett married Allyson Elizabeth Sikes (born 1975) in 2000, and the two have three sons. The Bartletts reside in Texas.
Career
Bartlett worked on George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's first successful campaign for Governor of Texas
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
in 1994. He was appointed as Deputy to the Policy Director in the Governor's office in Texas, and was Issues Director for Bush's 1998 gubernatorial re-election campaign.
During the 2000 presidential campaign, Bartlett was the Director of Rapid Response for Bush for President; he later worked as a deputy to presidential advisor Karen Hughes
Karen Hughes
Karen Parfitt Hughes is the Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State with the rank of ambassador. She resides in Austin, Texas.-Early life:Born in Paris, France, she is the daughter...
before being named White House Communications Director
White House Communications Director
The White House Director of Communications, also known as Assistant to the President for Communications, is part of the senior staff of the President of the United States, and is responsible for developing and promoting the agenda of the President and leading its media campaign...
. On January 5, 2005, the White House announced that Bartlett would assume the role of Counselor to the President, which allows him to focus more broadly on strategic communication and the formulation of policy. He has also worked for Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
's political consulting firm. On June 1, 2007, Bartlett announced his resignation as Counsel to the President.
On October 28, 2007, Public Strategies, Inc., a business advisory firm, announced they had hired Bartlett as a senior strategist.
In January 2009, Bartlett was named an adjunct faculty member at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs is a graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970 to offer professional training in public policy analysis and administration for students interested in pursuing careers in government and public affairs-related areas...
at the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, where he will teach a seminar on media and politics.
In March, 2009, Bartlett was named president and CEO of Public Strategies.
Controversies
Following the July 6, 2003, editorial by former ambassador Joseph WilsonJoseph C. Wilson
Joseph Charles Wilson IV is a former United States diplomat best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and the subsequent "outing" of his wife...
, Bartlett (with Ari Fleischer
Ari Fleischer
On May 19, 2003, he announced that he would resign during the summer, citing a desire to spend more time with his wife and to work in the private sector...
) pushed reporters to pursue who in the CIA sent him to Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, but stopped short of revealing that his wife worked for the agency.
At the end of 2007 Bartlett, during an interview with Evan Smith published in the January '08 Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
, implied some conservative bloggers, such as Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, lawyer, academic, and author. An outspoken Republican, evangelical Christian, he comments on society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is also a law professor at Chapman University School of Law.-...
, were unfiltered mouthpieces for the GOP and Bush White House.
I mean, talk about a direct IV into the vein of your support. It’s a very efficient way to communicate. They regurgitate exactly and put up on their blogs what you said to them. It is something that we’ve cultivated and have really tried to put quite a bit of focus on.
In May 2008, Bartlett appeared on various media outlets casting aspersions on the contentions raised by Scott McClellan
Scott McClellan
Scott McClellan is a former White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush, and author of a controversial No. 1 New York Times bestseller about the Bush Administration titled What Happened. He replaced Ari Fleischer as press secretary in July 2003 and served until May 10, 2006...
in his book What Happened
What Happened
What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception is the #1 New York Times bestseller of Scott McClellan, who served as White House Press Secretary from 2003 until 2006 under President George W. Bush. The book was scheduled to be released on June 2, 2008; however,...
that the administration had repeatedly "shaded the truth" in connection with justifying the Iraq War, and describing the role that various administration officials played in the Valerie Plame
Valerie Plame
Valerie Elise Plame Wilson , known as Valerie Plame, Valerie E. Wilson, and Valerie Plame Wilson, is a former United States CIA Operations Officer and the author of a memoir detailing her career and the events leading up to her resignation from the CIA.-Early life :Valerie Elise Plame was born on...
leak case. In a May 2008 telephone interview with CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Bartlett "asserted that McClellan did not play a major role in key events, noting that the former aide was serving as deputy press secretary for domestic issues during the run-up to the war in Iraq, raising questions about how McClellan could claim the President used 'propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
' to sell the war."