It's the way that you do it

Yet another example appears in this weekend's FT to suggest that "it 'aint what you do, but the way that you do it" that counts. Except this time the context is political (see Tales show a president need not be smart).

Writing about the similarities in three recent books on George W. Bush's administration, Peter Spiegel wondered:

How is it, then, that senior aides are ignored on their areas of expertise? Much of this dysfunction, it emerges, is due to the old Washington adage "process is policy" - in other words, how decisions are made profoundly effects [sic] which decisions are made. In this administration, the "how" is at the core of the dysfunction.

I wonder if they're any fans of Jimmie Lunceford at the White House?