Actually he was shown the door by the President himself…
WASHINGTON (AP) – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down as defense secretary on Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses.
President Bush said he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.
Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, “Well, there’s certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon.”
Bush lavished praise on Rumsfeld, who has spent six stormy years at his post. The president disclosed he met with Gates last Sunday, two days before the elections in which Democrats swept to control of the House and possibly the Senate.
MSNBC reports:
But sources told NBC News’ military analyst Bill Arkin that prior to the election, Vice President Dick Cheney argued with other politicians over whether Rumsfeld should stay. White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and others said Rumsfeld should be removed, the source said. Both sides agreed the decision would be made after the election, when Bush would make the final call based on how Republicans did.
According to the source, Bush agreed Rumsfeld should be removed after seeing election results favoring Democrats. Cheney then lost another argument, protesting Gates’ nomination as Rumsfeld’s replacement.
Looks like these guys are going to get their way…
Bush was actually for Rummy, before he was against him 🙂
But seriously, where are al the regulars?……
Mmmmm, I guess they are all hiding from the terrorist:)
Lee,
Oh I agree – no cloak and dagger, just deception and deceit. He lied to the American public a week ago – stating Rumsfeld would stay in place for two years. But hey – it’s ok for the President to lie before, during, and after election if it’s politically motivated, right?
No, it’s not right. But I feel what you consider lying to be a bit…flexible. Making a predicition that the Republicans would hold the house was your idea of a lie. Did Bush believe they would? Maybe, maybe not, but it would harm any chance they had at winning to tell the voters pre-election that “there is no chance to win, don’t bother voting.”
In the run up to voting, it’s obvious Bush and his political strategists worked up a plan for if they lose. The plan likely involved dismissing Rumsfeld immediately to curry favor with the new Democratic house. A house that will work to undermine and paralyze the administration and through that, the country if it is not working with the president.
As for him saying Rumsfeld would last the remainder of his term, at that time perhaps Bush believed he would, if he believed the Republicans would win. Either way, it yeilds nothing if he comes out with it a week before the election. Had he done that, I’m sure you would have questioned the timing and wrote it off as a politically motivated maneuver, designed to hold the election.
Things change. You should be happy they are, but instead You continue to criticize every move, regardless of it’s timing and of it’s value.
I see no here lie, honestly. All I see is a plan coming to fruition, a plan which depended greatly on timing and of circumstance.
woops, that first paragraph of my post was supposed to be a blockquote of Lee’s statement.
Heralder: “Maybe, maybe not, but it would harm any chance they had at winning to tell the voters pre-election that “there is no chance to win, don’t bother voting.””
So it’s ok for the President to lie to the American people if he is politically motivated? Thanks for setting that straight.
I don’t buy any justification for the President lying to the America people. Not Clinton, not anyone. Republican standards appear to be far lower.
Lee,
*sigh*
OK, let’s go over this one more time, you’re like a broken record.
We’re talking about polls and trends, not hard facts. You *cannot lie* when you do not know the outcome.
And, while were cherry picking partial paragraphs and using them to our own ends:
You’re welcome Lee, I’m glad you understand and have finally come around.
As for him saying Rumsfeld would last the remainder of his term, at that time perhaps Bush believed he would
Bush has now stated that at the time he said this, he was already interviewing replacements.
if he believed the Republicans would win.
How should saying whether Rummy was doing a good job hinge on whether the Reps won or not? Whatever happened to the truth?
Brian,
I explainjed my thinking for that in a previous post, but it’s just conjecture. It makes sense to me that Republican strategists would have planned for failure as well as victory.