Praise for the Little People, A Little Late

It seems like all departing political appointees go out of their way to compliment the career federal employees they worked with. (And doesn't it always come out sounding like they were a little surprised that turned out to be the case?) But it's not every day that an appointee praises the career folks when he's leaving at least partly because he was accused of playing a part in firing a bunch of them for political reasons lost their confidence by, allegedly, allowing the politicization of hiring and firing decisions at the department. (Note: This entry has been updated. See comments below for an explanation.)