Accountability is good; arbitrariness is poison. If you go at-will, anchor it with crisp objectives, transparent reviews, and insulation from politics—otherwise you breed fear, not performance. “Only the paranoid survive,” but aim that paranoia at the mission, not your boss’s whims.

Bully for efficiency, but the public service must rest on merit, not the caprice of spoilsmen. Trim the deadwood with vigor—but see that the faithful, expert servant gets a “Square Deal,” not the partisan axe.

Well, ya know, when government gets too big, it forgets who it serves. Making senior bureaucrats accountable—even at-will—can help Washington work for the people, so long as we keep politics out and fairness in. “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”