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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:23 am Post subject: RUMSFELD RESIGNS |
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Today is a GLORIOUS, GLORIOUS DAY. Rumsfeld is stepping down. WOO HOO!!
I felt relief when the Dems won back the House. This though? Pure 100% joy. I have hope again, HOPE.
Yahoo news article
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WASHINGTON -
President Bush said Wednesday Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is stepping down and former
CIA Director Robert Gates will take over at the
Pentagon and in prosecuting the war in
Iraq.
Rumsfeld, architect of an unpopular war in Iraq, intends to resign after six stormy years at the Pentagon, Republican officials said.
The development occurred one day after midterm elections that cost Republicans control of the House, and possibly the Senate, as well. Surveys of voters at polling places said opposition to the war was a significant contributor to the Democratic victory. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:27 am Post subject: |
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I've been watching the press conference and Bush actually looks a lot more relaxed and friendly than I've seen him in a while.
I also noticed that in Iraq they've decided to let just about every Baath party member back at their original posts with no questions asked, and that's some good news too.
I felt good all day today too. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:29 am Post subject: |
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Joe Lieberman weighs in...
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Said newly re-elected Sen. Joseph Lieberman: �Thanks Don, you've served the country but really we need somebody new there.�
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Notice he left out the adverb that would normally follow the phrase "served the country" in this type of a statement.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15620405/ |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:38 am Post subject: |
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Robert M. Gates nominated to replace him. Good choice; a professional from the ranks. Already read his memoirs and highly recommend them...
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[Robert M.] Gates is the president of Texas A&M University and a close friend of the Bush family. He served as CIA director for Bush's father from 1991 until 1993.
Gates first joined the CIA in 1966 and served in the intelligence community for more than a quarter century, under six presidents.
His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate. |
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6456406
https://www.cia.gov/csi/books/dddcia/gates.html
Last edited by Gopher on Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:48 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Satori
Joined: 09 Dec 2005
Location: Above it all
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:48 am Post subject: |
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Nice to see Bush is still mangling the English language in his announcement of the change.
"I'm grateful to his service" |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:56 am Post subject: |
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| You know, it occurs to me that if Rumsfeld were a) smart, and b) genuinely concerned about the future of the Republican Party, he would've stepped down about a week BEFORE the election, thus giving the electorate the impression that reform is in the air. (And maybe bumping Haggard's antics off the front page as well.) The fact that it took this debacle of an electoral performance to get him to resign indicates to me that he was utterly clueless about just how much a part of the problem he really was. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:01 am Post subject: |
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| maybe he was aware of the situation but a) doesn't care much about the GOP b) too stubborn to admit reality. I think that was the biggest reason for his "downfall": failure to admit failure. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:13 am Post subject: |
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maybe he was aware of the situation but a) doesn't care much about the GOP b) too stubborn to admit reality. I think that was the biggest reason for his "downfall": failure to admit failure.
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Possibly. But if he doesn't care about the GOP, why resign now? I'm guessing Bush asked him to, but then why didn't Bush ask him BEFORE the election? |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:16 am Post subject: |
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| On the other hand wrote: |
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maybe he was aware of the situation but a) doesn't care much about the GOP b) too stubborn to admit reality. I think that was the biggest reason for his "downfall": failure to admit failure.
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Possibly. But if he doesn't care about the GOP, why resign now? I'm guessing Bush asked him to, but then why didn't Bush ask him BEFORE the election? |
Because he's being forced to resign. And I think Bush is so isolated in his own world he really didn't know the Republicans would do that poorly yesterday. The election results were perhaps a wake-up call. |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:22 am Post subject: |
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| And I think Bush is so isolated in his own world he really didn't know the Republicans would do that poorly yesterday. |
Yeah, that's what I was sort of thinking too, but I was a bit hesitant to accept it as the explanation. I know Bush has difficulty facing certain aspects of reality, but I wasn't sure if he could really be that out-of-touch. However, I really can't think of another explanation. |
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Gopher
Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:32 am Post subject: |
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We are probably thinking too hard about this.
This announcement came just after W. Bush's chat with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who now carries about as much weight as you can get in Washington.
Politics have shifted. This forced changes. Not surprising for a constitutional democracy.
People have accustomed themselves so long into accepting the allegation that the United States was no longer a democracy, that they cannot understand this announcement. "What really explains this?" they ask.
But Pelosi very likely said something like this: "Rumsfeld has to go. He resigns or we come after him." W. Bush, who was loyal to Rumsfeld to a fault, which was entirely in character for him, waited until he had no other option before him, until the bitter end. (I've seen many examples of politicians, throughout world history, doing such things.)
And that's all she wrote. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:42 am Post subject: |
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| this morning i've received phone calls from friends and family about this. can't remember the last time that happened about a political event. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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Changes of this nature don't happen on the spur of the moment. The decision was made earlier that if the election was not decisive, Rumsfeld would stay on. However, as we know...  As I said in another thread the other night, Pelosi would demand Rummy's head on a silver platter the next day.
The political angle to this is partly this: The administration has seized the initiative and will be able to point to 'change', thus blunting the Dem's victory in the coming months. Gates will have to be confirmed and then given some time in office to begin making changes. The Administration has gained itself about a year of breathing space before criticism of its war strategy will be addressed again. |
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gang ah jee
Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Location: city of paper
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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WOOT WOOT!!!
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Pligganease
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: The deep south...
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| Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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I picture the scene a lot like this...
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