March 29 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush responded to sinking approval rates and criticism from within his own party by signaling he's staying the course, replacing one senior aide with another in the job of White House chief of staff.

Bush's selection of White House budget director Joshua Bolten to replace Andrew Card, both longtime advisers to the president, isn't likely to bring about significant changes in policy or political style, or have much impact on Bush's public approval ratings, according to pollsters, lawmakers and former White House officials.

The shuffling of insiders is in contrast with staff shakeups of past administrations in which outsiders were brought as chief of staff at critical periods. When the Iran-contra scandal was threatening his presidency, Ronald Reagan brought in Senator Howard Baker to replace Donald Regan; Bill Clinton tapped Leon Panetta, a veteran of Washington, to replace longtime loyalist Mack McLarty as he suffered a decline in polls.

Panetta said the switch of Bolten for Card won't by itself produce a new direction for the administration. Unless Bush is willing to shift course, Panetta said, ``all the chiefs of staff changes in the world won't change things.''

Some Republicans, such as Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, said Bush needed ``more stature'' on his staff and that more changes may be needed to right the ship. ``They need to bring in some experienced hands,'' Lott said.

Other Changes

Bush spokesman Scott McClellan wouldn't rule out other shifts at the White House. Bolten ``will have all the authority he needs'' to bring in new blood, after consulting with Bush, he said yesterday. A replacement for Bolten at the budget office will come ``as quickly as possible,'' he said.

``Josh's job is to design a White House staff that meets the needs of the president,'' Bush said in an interview yesterday with CNN Espanol. One of his most important duties ``is to make sure I get information in a timely fashion so I can make decisions.''

The appointment of Bolten, 51, won plaudits from Republicans yesterday.

``It is the familiar and it is family,'' said Kenneth Duberstein, who once served as chief of staff under Reagan. ``But it is also a different person helping Bush guide the ship of state.''

Bolten has an established relationship with many Republicans in Congress, who yesterday praised his knowledge of the issues and the way he works with lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, called Bolten ``an excellent choice.'' Lott said Bolten already was reaching out to members of Congress.

Background in Policy

Unlike Card, Bolten has a background in working on policy as well as political matters. He is the president's longest-serving economic adviser, having left his job as a director at Goldman Sachs International in London in 2000 to tutor then-Texas Governor Bush on the economy.

As deputy chief of staff during Bush's first term, Bolten helped draw up Bush's tax cuts. He also helped successfully shepherd through Congress the president's plan to add a prescription-drug benefit under Medicare. In 2003, he took over as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

``Josh Bolten is the in-house expert on the budget, and that is the strongest area we have to take into the November election,'' said Tom Rath, a member of the Republican National Committee who maintains close ties to the administration.

The Challenge

Bolten's biggest challenge will be whether he can impose ``a much-needed change of direction'' on Bush, Panetta said.

``You have to have a good relationship with the president, but you also have to be a tough SOB to get things done,'' Panetta said. ``And that means not only being tough with the staff, but, occasionally, tough with the president.''

Over the past year Bush has suffered a series of setbacks, including the failed nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, the government's slow response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster and a Republican revolt over the administration's approval of a state-owned Dubai company taking over operations at six U.S. seaports. Bush also is losing public support for the war in Iraq, now in its fourth year.

The president's job approval rating in the most recent poll by the Gallup Organization was 37 percent, and other national surveys have shown similar results.

Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in Washington, predicted that the impact of the switch on Bush's poll numbers would be minimal.

Performance Counts

``The public doesn't know Andy Card, and hearing about one change in the White House staff, even at a very high level, isn't going to make people reconsider things,'' Kohut said. ``It's really performance that counts.''

The chief of staff is a pivotal position in the White House, setting priorities, screening appointments and often deciding what matters must be brought to the president's attention.

Card, 58, approached Bush on March 8 to suggest that he resign, and the president decided to accept it on Saturday while at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, McClellan said. He leaves the White House April 14, and Bolten takes over the job the next day.

Card served longer than any other presidential chief of staff except Sherman Adams in the Eisenhower administration, and many took his resignation as a sign he was tired from a grueling job. Card normally gets to work at 5:30 a.m. and often doesn't leave until 9 or 10 at night.

`Can't Get Away'

``These people work astonishingly long hours,'' said Craig Shirley, a Republican political consultant in Alexandria, Virginia. ``With BlackBerries and cell phones, you don't have any privacy. You can't get away from it.''

Bolten is known for putting in long hours at the budget office. The son of a CIA operative, he grew up in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland. He often rides his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the annual Rolling Thunder event to honor Vietnam veterans on Memorial Day.

Bolten received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1976 and his law degree in 1980 from Stanford Law School, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review. He has taught international trade at Yale Law School and also worked for the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers and the U.S. District Court of San Francisco.

In his 2003 financial disclosure filing, he reported a vacation home in Key West, Florida, worth between $500,001 and $1 million and personal savings and investments totaling at least $1.08 million.

To contact the reporters on this story: Catherine Dodge in Washington at Cdodge1@bloomberg.net; Roger Simon in Washington at rogersimon@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 29, 2006 00:14 EST