Removal of Rumsfeld Dates Back to Summer- NY TIMES

[demokatgurrl]

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 — President Bush was moving by late summer toward removing Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary, people inside and outside the White House said Thursday. Weeks before Election Day, the essential question still open was when, not whether, to make the move.

Mr. Bush ultimately postponed action until after the election in part because of concern that to remove Mr. Rumsfeld earlier could be interpreted by critics as political opportunism or as ratifying their criticism of the White House war plan in the heart of the campaign, the White House insiders and outsiders said


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/10/washington/10rumsfeld.html

[redqueen]

1. Everything this WH does is ruled by politics.

Shameful.

[Frustratedlady]

2. For someone SO concerned about our troops, he should have acted

last summer (or long before). To be more concerned about the party, exposes how Bush and his cohorts truly feel. If my son or daughter was killed during that period of time when they were gauging their decisions strictly on political concerns, I'd be at the front door of the White House, demanding an explanation...eyeball to eyeball. Sacrificing ones life for your country is one thing...for the Republican party? That is quite another story.

How low does he go?

[Auntie Bush]

5. Hmmmm....."I'd be at the front door of the White House."

That's nice but been proven to be a near impossible job.
Ask Cindy Sheehan.

[rocktivity]

3. TORO TURD!

It's obvious that summertime would have been the PERFECT time to remove Rumsfeld, but they didn't, as always, because it would have been tantamount to admitting that Georgie had screwed up again. But that's not to say that the removal wasn't on the table--quite the opposite.

Certainly Rove and Cheney saw the writing on the wall concerning the election, even if it wasn't what Bush wanted to hear. I believe they arranged for the appearance of the editorials calling for Rummy's ouster in those military newspapers. Why? Because if the election had been successful for the GOP, Bush would have been in a perfect position to publicly denounce them and declare his allegiance to Rummy--and if the Dems won, the editorials could trigger a doomsday plan.

Removing Rummy the day after the Dem victory served three purposes: making Bush look like he was in charge; making him look like he was not inflexible in terms of working with a Dem majority, and, of course, giving media something OTHER than the Dem victory to talk about!

:headbang:
rocknation

[KansDem]

4. But...but...but I thought we were told Bush doesn't pay attention to polls

Mr. Bush ultimately postponed action until after the election in part because of concern that to remove Mr. Rumsfeld earlier could be interpreted by critics as political opportunism or as ratifying their criticism of the White House war plan in the heart of the campaign, the White House insiders and outsiders said

I...I...I thought he was decisive and resolute, so if he made the decision to remove Rumsfeld in "late summer," why...why did he wait until now? Could it be that all that "resolute, decisive" (dare I say it?) stay the course, kinda leadership we heard and read about was pure Corporate Media bullshit?

Oh, nooooo!!! What's a believer to do??? :cry: