The message to the chief of staff was meant to be taken as a suggestion that Sununu offer to resign, one highly placed source said. Instead, Sununu sought to prove to the president that his supporters outnumber his critics and that he should remain in his post.; One senior official Monday described the White House as "a collection of small groups of aides holding their breaths," waiting to see whether Sununu survives. One GOP source, reporting on a call from the chief of staff to a Republican leader, said Sununu lamented that "the noose is tightening around my neck, and I need your help."; Another highly placed source said the president's son met with Sununu last week after holding a series of conversations about the structure of the White House staff and of the campaign with other Bush loyalists and GOP activists. The source said the younger Bush "sketched out for Sununu" problems the president is encountering because of the chief of staff's tenure.; "He was told . . . the handwriting was on the wall," the source said Monday.; That, the source said, was when Sununu started calling congressional Republicans and asking them to tell Bush that the conservative wing of the party, in particular, would object if he were fired.; Officials said the president himself met with Sununu Sunday. A source said the outcome of that session was unclear.
President Bush 's son George informed White House Chief of Staff John Sununu last Wednesday that he had alienated members of the cabinet , the White House Staff and the Republican community . The message was meant to be taken as a suggestion that Sununu offer to resign . Instead , Sununu took the message as a way to rally his support among members of congress and the conservative wing of the Republican Party to convince the President that he should remain at his post . Officials said that the president himself met with Sununu personally . The outcome of that session was unclear .