Things are changing at the Small Business Administration. Today Bush announced his pick for the new head for the agency after the spot was vacated three weeks ago, reports CNN Money. Nominee Santanu "Sandy" Baruah is based in Portland, Oregon and is presently the head of the Economic Development Administration at the Department of Commerce. A hardcore Bush-y since 2001, Baruah previously operated a consulting group whose clients include Disney World and Intel.

Given his involvement with the Bush administration, partisan hackles are already raising over his nomination. John Kerry, chair of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship said of Baruah:

"For seven years the Bush Administration has put Wall Street ahead of Main Street, and denied the SBA the funding and staff needed to serve our small businesses. The next administrator at the SBA must be ready to offer creative solutions for the current credit crunch, implement programs that will actually help women and minorities gain access to federal contracts and loans, and make sure that small firms have access to counseling and training to grow their businesses in this tough economic climate."

Ouch - sounds like Kerry's not in Baruah's corner just yet.

Whether or not Baruah is actually up for that task is yet to be seen, and given that most of Bush's partisan hacks have been abject failures, we're skeptical. But there may be hope! He's seen here (the guy, um, not smiling) handing out a $2 million check to the "Town of Santa Claus," which means he can't be all bad, right?

Stay tuned!