Rumsfeld Is Gone!

Having toughed it out through the election, the White House has pulled the trigger at the Defense Department. Rumsfeld will be replaced by Robert Gates, former CIA chief under Bush I.

What will this mean? It depends on Gates. Bush's history is to appoint people and to give then their heads. We will have to pay close attention to what Gates has to say, and more importantly, what he does.

One Added Thought:

Before the press gets all bent out of shape about Bush telling reporters last week that Rumsfeld would stay, imagine if he had made this same announcement one week ago. He would have been accused of a cynical November surprise of the highest order and, in fact, might have held down the number of seats won by the Democrats. He would have been widely condemned in the MSP and the Blogosphere.