The San Jose Mercury-News reports that ESA CEO Michael Gallagher (left) has received a vote of confidence from Microsoft entertainment exec Robbie Bach:

"Mike's doing a great job. . . . I think he was the right hire; I think he was a good hire," Bach said. "But he's had to deal with a lot of change all at once, so that just makes his job harder than it probably needs to be."

 

Bach said he interpreted the withdrawals of Activision and Vivendi as largely a side effect of the distractions of their pending merger. But given their importance, he also noted, "Certainly we have to assess the impact of not having them as dues-paying members. That does have an impact."

Bach is Microsoft's representative to the ESA's board of directors, and was chairman when Gallagher was hired in May, 2007. Gallagher and Bach share a connection of sorts with the George W. Bush administration. Prior to joining the ESA, Gallagher worked as an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, while Bach was a contributor to Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns.

Bach's vote of confidence follows questions about Gallagher's leadership of the game publishers group in recent weeks. As GamePolitics has reported, four member companies (Activision, Vivendi, LucasArts and id) have dropped out since the beginning of May.

GP: Bach's vote of confidence would be more meaningful if it were echoed by the entire ESA board.