| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| Rove, Condi trying to force Rumsfeld out; Cheney resists |
| 2004-11-12 |
| WASHINGTON — Donald Rumsfeld is likely to remain at the Pentagon until the spring, despite strong pressure from key White House political advisers for him to leave sooner. According to well-placed Pentagon sources, Vice President Cheney has argued the case for Mr. Rumsfeld to remain as defense secretary until at least the spring, and Mr. Cheney would prefer that Mr. Rumsfeld stayed longer. Well, that's one man with sense. Karl Rove and other White House advisers, however, have maintained that Mr. Rumsfeld has become a political liability and will undermine possible improvement in relations between Washington and European allies, the sources said. "The White House political shop wants him out now," a senior Defense Department source said of Mr. Rumsfeld. Note to Karl: Bush isn't running for a third term. Much will depend on what happens with Condoleezza Rice. Administration officials told The New York Sun that Ms. Rice wants to replace Mr. Rumsfeld. If Ms. Rice gets the nod, that will relieve pressure to create an opening for her soon at Foggy Bottom. "She wants to move on and has made it clear that she wants to become the first woman to head the Defense Department," a high-level Pentagon source said of Ms. Rice. The State Department already has been headed by a woman. And we all know how well that turned out. Details of the behind-the-scenes tussle over who goes and who remains in Mr. Bush's second-term Cabinet are being closely watched by the foreign policy establishment in Washington for clues as to what the president intends to do overseas in the next four years. Clean out out the obstructionist, antiwar Foggy Bottom elite, or surrender to them? Ms. Rice, if she is appointed to the Pentagon, is likely to give it a very different staff. "Her instincts are not Rumsfeld's," the Annenberg professor at the Institute of World Politics, Michael Waller, said. "At the National Security Council, she kept Clinton holdovers like Richard Clarke and favored Foreign Service career officers." Oops, guess that answers the question. I can't tell how much of this is preemptive press posturing, but if Rumsfeld leaves before Powell, the policy reunification we were pleased about yesterday could make things unfortunately worse. |
| Posted by:someone |
| #17 Karl Rove and other White House advisers, however, have maintained that Mr. Rumsfeld has become a political liability and will undermine possible improvement in relations between Washington and European allies, the sources said. Rove wants to chop out one of the most important and instrumental parts of GWB's team on the chance that doing so might result in "possible improvement" in relations with Europe??? Sounds to me like Rove isn't the genius some people make him out to be, because this is a damned stupid idea. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-11-12 11:18:10 PM |
| #16 Bush should never let go of Rumsfeld. He's turned things around nicely and isn't finished yet. What a total mistake it would be to let him go. We voted for FOUR MORE YEARS OF THE SAME, thank you. Cheney's right. Rumsfeld can be counted on for consistency and smarts. The political players want Condi instead so they can go back to doing what they please at DoD. If Rove thinks Hillary is going to run in '08, he may be trying to groom Condi as a presidential candidate. Also a BIG mistake. Two decent Republican men against stupid Hillary and whatever lackey she selects will guarantee the Republicans a win. Think about it. A black woman, who is a terrible public speaker to boot, running against a Clinton would be a disaster. The country just isn't ready. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-11-12 3:24:42 PM |
| #15 What's this running for a third term crap. Rove is responsible for more than just reelections. He's gotta warn the President when decision X will screw with policy Y and ensure that judge Z will never have a chance. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2004-11-12 2:47:29 PM |
| #14 How about Zell Miller to take over Defence should Rumsfeld step down? I agree that Dr. Rice is not likely to be effective as SecDef -- she just doesn't have the background. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-11-12 2:24:11 PM |
| #13 GWB isn't running for a third term, but Rove is. He's been upfront about wanting to be the Mark Hanna of the 21st century by creating a decades-long realignment in favor of the GOP. It will never stop being political for him. Rest assured, he's well into the process of figuring out which horse to jump aboard for 2008. |
| Posted by: VAMark 2004-11-12 12:51:51 PM |
| #12 Bah. Haven't had enough coffee yet. I mean put Condi in as SecState. |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2004-11-12 11:43:24 AM |
| #11 Where's the president's legendary "strict loyalty to policy" when we need it ... if the Cabinet were reduced but to ONE, I would take Rumsfeld only ... |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2004-11-12 11:30:22 AM |
| #10 Condi is letting her ambition get the better of her, probably egged on by Rumsfeld's enemies. Condi is tempermentally suited for State, not DoD. Put Paul Wolfowitz in at NSC, Condi as SecDef when Powell resigns, and bring in somebody from the outside if Rumsfeld decides to go later on. Maybe W. could put a clueful Democrat in DoD as a peace gesture -- maybe Lieberman? |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2004-11-12 11:21:09 AM |
| #9 Rumsfeld's been more successful as SecDef tahn anyone could've imagined...remember the Quagmire(!)™ of Afghanistan and that Terrible Winter™? What about the 100,000 forecast dead in the Iraq invasion? Libya? Iran and Syria and NK remain unfinished business, and a guy like Rumsfeld scares the sh*t out of them. That's recommendation enough for me. Condi can take State apart after Powell resigns |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-11-12 11:11:03 AM |
| #8 Agreed Moose, but that is also why some within the military who are not too hot with Rummy's reforms may be looking to make like Rice could do better. Let Condi run against DiFi or Gov if the Governator doesn't run for another. Condi could do a lot more to help herself and the country by keeping Caliphornia on the Path Arnie has set and prepping her resume for the big run. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-12 10:51:28 AM |
| #7 That makes sense. I didn't understand from watching each of them over the last 4 years that there would be a great policy void between them, but it's true that there are some jobs where time put in and your hands-on experience is indispensable. Thanks, anonymoose. |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-11-12 10:23:53 AM |
| #6 Brilliant as she is, the DoD is a bastion of military organization. And military competency cannot be learned solely from textbooks, unlike most other managerial positions. It is reliant on talent, on experience, on education, on training, on logistics, on organization, on morale, and on planning--often almost mutually exclusive abilities, which are brought together into an effective whole. Those civilian leaders unfamiliar with military organization are relegated to being liasons, treading water while military "mandarins" manage as best they can. But Rumsfeld entered the job with an educated philosophy of change, which is partially completed. To replace him now would either be to renounce that philosophy as a failure, wasting untold billions of dollars; or to almost ensure that it never meets fruition--or is incapable of meeting the goals it was designed to meet. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-11-12 10:13:50 AM |
| #5 I don't understand why Rice and Rumsfeld would be at odds. It's not that their solutions to foriegn policy problems are that different, is it? Edification anyone? |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-11-12 9:42:27 AM |
| #4 We're about to go to war against Iran, Syria, and NoKorea. Rumsfeld is the best man as SecDef. Maybe the best ever to serve in that position. The only talk of change should be to kick Powell out, and give Rice a challenging position where she can prove her value. Maybe she can try to clean up the State Dept. I'm beginning to have doubts about her, especially if she is the one responsible for keeping Clinton's idiots in place up to and after 9/11. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-11-12 9:34:11 AM |
| #3 As much as I like her the Pentagon is not the place for Connie. |
| Posted by: raptor 2004-11-12 9:19:12 AM |
| #2 #1: Nope! It is time for Ms. Rice to be handed her walking papers. Rumsfeld is var more valuable to the Administration than Condi. As for Rove, time for him to go as well. As someone else said, Bush isn't running for a third term. -AR |
| Posted by: Analog Roam 2004-11-12 9:12:51 AM |
| #1 Rumsfeld made a major contribution and served well. But it's time for him to move on. His priorities have already been addressed, and now it's time for more subtle diplomacy. "Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered." |
| Posted by: lex 2004-11-12 9:04:14 AM |