Bush's reputation as a lame-duck president isn't helped by a massive staff exodus.

President Bush is losing his chief speech writer, William McGurn, and his director of legislative affairs, Candida Wolff, the White House announced this morning.

Mr. McGurn, a former Wall Street Journal columnist, replaced Michael Gerson in January 2005, and will leave after crafting the president's final State of the Union speech for late January.

Mrs. Wolff joined the president's staff three years ago after three years in Vice President Dick Cheney's legislative affairs shop, and will leave by the end of this month.

It's not unusual for a president's staff to secure post-White House jobs before the transition between administrations, but doesn't Bush still have 13 months left in office?