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Abstract
No longer "King Tommy," as he was known for his record 14 years as Wisconsin's chief executive, Tommy Thompson now casts himself as a lackey to the big wheels at the White House and on Capitol Hill. By Thompson's own account, it has been a bumpy ride. In Wisconsin, he won national acclaim for his innovative welfare, health care and education reforms. But Thompson has struggled to stay on course since taking the helm of HHS in February 2001. Thompson would have a tough job under the best of circumstances. With more than 65,000 employees and a budget of $489 billion, HHS is among the world's largest government entities. For Thompson, that challenge became nightmarish last fall, when the World Trade Center and anthrax attacks thrust bioterrorism front and center. Thompson has largely recovered from his anthrax miscues, installing across the hall from his office a round-the-clock war room to handle bioterrorism. But his task - rebuilding the nation's crumbling and long-neglected public health system - is overwhelming.