Petty, Incompetent Politics
One more thing on Rummy's downfall. For a group of people that have been generally considered shrewd politicians the firing of Rumsfeld is evidence of the exact opposite.
There were two other options that would have been smarter moves. First, Bush could have had Rumsfeld step down prior to the election. One major reason the GOP lost in these elections is the Iraq War. It cast a shadow over every other issue. If Bush had asked Rumsfeld to step down a couple of months before the election, doubled down its efforts, and shown a change in tactics and strategy he could have moved towards reclaiming his mantle of a competent leader.
Instead, one week prior to the election Bush was out saying that Rumsfeld was going to be his Defense Secretary for his entire term. This has turned out to be an obvious lie. Not 24 hours after the election results were known he shitcanned Rummy and announced that he had a replacement, Robert Gates. I can't imagine that Bush called Gates Wednesday morning and asked him. There had to be some interviews and vetting. Right?
The second option to get rid of Rummy was to wait another 4 to 6 weeks. Allow the press and Democrats to talk about their new majority and haggle over who was getting what leadership position. Then around the holidays come out and let Rummy go. Maybe he could have claimed health reasons but that wouldn't have mattered. This method would allow Bush to get rid of one of his lightning rods and not look panicy.
Because canning Rumsfeld the afternoon after losing the election looks panicy. I wonder if Bush and Rove really believed their pre-election prognostications that the GOP was going to maintain control. If they did it is reminiscent of their concept that U.S. troops would be greeted with cheers and flowers as our tanks rolled into Baghdad.
The one "logical" reason for canning him now is that Bush wants a GOP Senate seated to approve his new nominee. They may have seen the writing on the wall that Allen was going to lose Virginia giving the Democrats control of the Senate. That would imply Robert Gates was a contingency plan to avoid nasty hearings in front of Congressional oversight committees and Bush had to move fast while the GOP still had control.
There were two other options that would have been smarter moves. First, Bush could have had Rumsfeld step down prior to the election. One major reason the GOP lost in these elections is the Iraq War. It cast a shadow over every other issue. If Bush had asked Rumsfeld to step down a couple of months before the election, doubled down its efforts, and shown a change in tactics and strategy he could have moved towards reclaiming his mantle of a competent leader.
Instead, one week prior to the election Bush was out saying that Rumsfeld was going to be his Defense Secretary for his entire term. This has turned out to be an obvious lie. Not 24 hours after the election results were known he shitcanned Rummy and announced that he had a replacement, Robert Gates. I can't imagine that Bush called Gates Wednesday morning and asked him. There had to be some interviews and vetting. Right?
The second option to get rid of Rummy was to wait another 4 to 6 weeks. Allow the press and Democrats to talk about their new majority and haggle over who was getting what leadership position. Then around the holidays come out and let Rummy go. Maybe he could have claimed health reasons but that wouldn't have mattered. This method would allow Bush to get rid of one of his lightning rods and not look panicy.
Because canning Rumsfeld the afternoon after losing the election looks panicy. I wonder if Bush and Rove really believed their pre-election prognostications that the GOP was going to maintain control. If they did it is reminiscent of their concept that U.S. troops would be greeted with cheers and flowers as our tanks rolled into Baghdad.
The one "logical" reason for canning him now is that Bush wants a GOP Senate seated to approve his new nominee. They may have seen the writing on the wall that Allen was going to lose Virginia giving the Democrats control of the Senate. That would imply Robert Gates was a contingency plan to avoid nasty hearings in front of Congressional oversight committees and Bush had to move fast while the GOP still had control.
posted by LP Cards Fan at
10:16 AM
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