"No, no, John," Brady called out. "YOU'RE going the wrong way." Reproached, Sununu reversed tracks and followed the Cabinet secretary.; These days, Sununu seems to be making a habit of going the wrong way: The latest flap is over his taking a chauffeur-driven White House car to New York to attend a stamp auction.; And the abrasive chief of staff is discovering that the dozens of people he has insulted or slighted -- from administration officials to members of Congress -- are watching his travails with thinly disguised relish.; Before, Sununu could take comfort in unswerving support from the person who mattered: President Bush. But now, that too is in doubt.; Bush gave Sununu a less-than-ringing endorsement Wednesday, telling reporters that the former New Hampshire governor has created an "appearance problem."; And suddenly, the political community is abuzz with questions about how long Sununu will last in his job and how someone so bright could get himself in so much trouble.; Sununu's latest problems stem from his use of his official car to go to New York for a stamp auction. There was nothing illegal about the trip, or Sununu's ride home on a corporate jet after attending a GOP fund-raiser in New Jersey later that night.; But the incident raises questions about Sununu's judgment because it came only a few weeks after reports of his use of government jets for personal and political purposes.; Besides triggering a spate of unflattering attention, those reports prompted a new, more-restrictive White House travel policy that required Sununu to get advance approval for his flights.; The latest flap has dominated White House briefings the past two days and prompted Bush to suggest Wednesday that Sununu shouldn't use his government car for such purposes again.; "I recognize, and I think the governor (Sununu) does, there's an appearance problem," said Bush, who nonetheless defended Sununu's use of the car as permissible in this case and said Sununu's job was safe.; White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, amplifying Bush's comments, made it clear that Bush had told Sununu that he was concerned by the appearance of impropriety and that he wanted his chief of staff to take no more embarrassing trips.; Fitzwater said Bush expects such use of a White House car to be "a one-time-only thing. . . . We only expect it to happen once."; The controversy is unquestionably an embarrassment for Bush, who has prided himself on setting a high ethical standard for his administration. And some former White House officials say Sununu should recognize that he is not serving Bush well.; "In light of his problems with his jet travel and all that, he ought to be a little careful," said Lyn Nofziger, a White House political director under Ronald Reagan. "If not for his sake, then for the sake of the president. It's the president who has to run for re-election next year, not John Sununu."; As Sununu himself has noted, some of the criticism goes with the job of saying "no" to administration officials and lawmakers who want the president's ear.; "Somebody has to be the tougher hand, the firmer hand. It goes with the territory," Sununu said last month.; But critics complain that Sununu's brusque style has alienated Republicans and Democrats needlessly, causing unnecessary ill will.; He publicly dismissed Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., as an "insignificant figure" last year during the budget debate on Capitol Hill. He has enraged House Republicans by dressing them down privately and questioning their political skills.
John Sununu, the abrasive White House Chief of Staff, is discovering that the many people he has insulted or slighted are enjoying his recent travails and asking how long he will last in his job. Sununu's brusque style has alienated Republicans and Democrats alike. The latest flap over his using a government limousine to go to a stamp auction in New York raises no legal question, but makes one question, his judgment. President Bush said that Sununu's job was safe but Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater made it clear that Bush directed Sununu to make no more embarrassing trips.