What Does It Mean When They Say You Are "an adviser for Democratic and Republican administrations"

Aaron David Miller writes for Newsweek:

Don't get me wrong. Barack Obama—as every other U.S. president before him—will protect the special relationship with Israel. But the days of America's exclusive ties to Israel may be coming to an end. Despite efforts to sound reassuring during the campaign, the new administration will have to be tough, much tougher than either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush were, if it's serious about Arab-Israeli peacemaking.

When I finished the paragraph, I wondered just who this guy was who seems to think that the current administration has been taking it easy on Israel. According to the blurb end of the article:

Miller, an adviser for Democratic and Republican administrations and author of “The Much Too Promised Land,” is at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Well that is impressive, serving both Democrat and Republican administrations. That seems to imply a definite even handedness and lack of bias. Then I checked his bio at the Wilson Center--which was helpful by not being quite as vague as Newsweek:

Former Advisor to six Secretaries of State on Arab-Israeli Negotiations, 1978–2003

Oh, so Newsweek meant that Miller was an adviser to the State Department during Democratic and Republican administrations.

Is serving the State Department really the same thing as serving Presidential administrations?

I mean, really?
(And don't get me started on the unbiased and even handedness part)

Thanks to Memeorandum for the link!

Technorati Tag: Media Bias.