Rumsfeld roundup

I am a Donald Rumsfeld fan. I have no shame or embarassment in saying it. I think he was an outstanding choice, which is not to say he is perfect. His replacement now is mistimed and disloyal.

From a political and practical perspective, he should have resigned right after Bush's win in 2004. To have all of those military papers release an editorial on the weekend before the election saying the military had lost faith in him was devastating.

Apparently Bush has been thinking about replacing him for months, so it begs the question, why not in August? Why not show that you are listening, willing to be flexible, etc? How many seats could have been saved? The "stay the course" mantra and the impression that Bush was inflexible were likely responsible for a couple of points in each race where a conservative Democrat won. It's not inconceivable that the Senate could still belong to the Rs if Rummy had been let go a couple of months ago. And don't get me started on candidate recruitment.

A good round up of his tenure as SecDef can be found at NRO, with additional insight in the Corner. He will be remembered as a great public servant and a great leader, now tainted with this election loss, having overstayed his time.

We know he offered his resignation twice to Bush before 2004, so responsibility for this election and for Rumsfeld's end lies squarly with the man in the oval office. As it should.