<p>Breaking news: Bush to announce Rumsfeld resignation.</p>
<p>That should cure all the problems.</p>
<p>See? This is how hard-headed the current administration has been about Iraq. I mean, were things so great yesterday that he would have stayed on otherwise?</p>
<p>what??? we are not staying the course?</p>
<p>Do you know what the course IS?</p>
<p>Nice he couldn’t do it last week.</p>
<p>Maybe Bush is deferrring to the will of the people? Man can’t win with some of you. Damned if doesn’t, damned if he does.</p>
<p>Whoopee! President lies again!</p>
<p>Robert Gates. This is the guy who sat there smiling while Colin Powell went on national tv and lied about the destruction of the 20 Iraqi SCUD missile launching pads, knowing full well that the U.S. hadn’t destroyed even one. </p>
<p>Stay the course.</p>
<p>LOL! The will of the people!</p>
<p>People have wanted Rummy’s head on a platter for two years!</p>
<p>Republicans have to wonder if some votes might have gone a different way yesterday if Bush had taken this step weeks ago…shown some sign that his administration acknowledged that someone ought to be held responsible for mismanagement in Iraq. It was Bush’s stubbornness on this that motivated independents like myself to vote in a way that sent a message.</p>
<p>Too little, too late, as far as I’m concerned.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, Bush assured us we are staying the course and we will win the war. (We just misunderstood what he meant by “stay the course”.)</p>
<p>Now if only Cheney will resign due to “heath” issues…</p>
<p>The course is done.</p>
<p>You know, maybe GW is just reliving his Texas ranger days. Usually when an owner announced his “full support” of a manager it meant start packing. Maybe he is confused about baseball and government?</p>
<p>Oh, now I know who is to blame for the Republicans losing the House. It actually follows logically: The election was seen as a referendum against the war in Iraq, and the Secretary of Defense is responsible for that policy, so he has to take the blame and resign. So it was all HIS fault… the war, the election, makes sense to me!</p>
<p>“The president’s choice of Robert Gates to succeed Mr. Rumsfeld … is deeply troubling. During his tenure at CIA, Mr. Gates developed a reputation for pressuring analysts and managers to shape analytical conclusions to fit administration positions.” Rep. Rush Holt </p>
<p>Yup. Guy with a track record. And a pretty lousy one at that.</p>
<p>allmusic - Some people have been unhappy with Rumsfeld, some love the guy. I would be extremely upset if our President went ‘polling’ to find out how he should hire and fire. BUT, we have a democracy and an election process that is fair and speaks the mind and will of the masses. Responding to such a process IS appropriate… which, imho, is what George W. Bush is doing. But just firing Rumsfeld won’t cut it. Bush has plenty to do to appease moderate Americans who are unhappy, just as Democrats have plenty to do to prove they deserve the confidence that has been placed in them.</p>
<p>Not sad to see him go, but Rumsfeld is just the fall guy for a the failed policy and a nice way for Bush to be able to “change the course” with “fresh ideas” and “new eyes” and avoid admitting he was wrong. Rumsfeld was the manager and implementer of Bush/Cheney policy. Having said that, Rumsfeld was arrogant and dismissive. He was controlling and did not let the Joint Chiefs do their job. He wanted it done his way. His way really was the wrong way. Hence, what started out as a military invasion is now a civil war and sociological mess that can not be fixed militarily. </p>
<p>Everyone is looking to the newly elected in Congress and/or the “Commission” to find a solution to this huge mess. And they will blame the Dems for not coming up with a solution to the nightmare Bush created.</p>
<p>Rummy had to go – otherwise, he’d be spending the next two years defending himself in Congressional hearings…</p>
<p>Mini, but Gates follow’s Bush’s pattern: he’s an old family friend, one of Daddy’s guys that bail him out when he gets in deep.</p>
<p>Bush is far too excessive about inclining towards familiarity and loyalty over competence.</p>