Well, This May Explain A Few Things
In today's Washington Post, David Ignatius calls for Rumsfeld to resign. He tells us that most serving officers want him out. I have no way to judge that statement, since he couches it in the 'I talk to insiders' framework which doesn't really transmit any real information. But he makes one statement that may answer something.
Rumsfeld's replacement should be someone who can help restore a bipartisan consensus for a sensible Iraq policy. One obvious candidate would be the centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman. Another would be a centrist Republican with military experience, such as Sen. Chuck Hagel or Sen. John McCain. The administration would have to swallow its pride to take any of them on board, but that's the point: Without bold moves from the White House, support for the war will continue to slip away.
Notice who leads the list of candidates?
How many here think there will be a big push by the left to get Lieberman out of the Senate and into the SecDef position? A show of hands please.
By Black Jack, Friday, 14 April , 2006 @ 10:01 am
Put me in the “nay” column. The unholy alliance of Dems and MSM does want Rumsfeld gone, but not at the expense of one of their senators.
Consider how long they put up with Robert KKK Byrd. No, I’m not going for it, Dems count votes first, well before they demand ideological purity.
Lieberman is just a smokescreen, a carrot, thrown out by Ignatius which seems to sweeten the deal and make his call to get rid of Rumsfeld seem a bit more palatable to the GOP.
I can almost hear Br’er Rabbit saying “You can do anything to me you want, just don’t throw me in the briar patch.”
By Bradley J. Fikes, Friday, 14 April , 2006 @ 11:31 am
Anonymous sourcing is journalistic crack — it feels good for an instant, but the aftereffects are horrible.
Based on what I’ve seen of the practice, I’d guess at least 90 percent of such mystery sources could be easily taken out of stories. Very rarely, there is a legitimate justification.
Ignatius is a columnist, not a news reporter, so his rules may be looser. But regular reporters at the Post and NYT do the same thing all the time, for the most trivial of reasons.
As for Rumsfeld, blaming a subordinate for the boss’ decisions doesn’t make sense. And if Rumsfeld resigns, his replacment will face the same problems.
By Gauis Arbo, Friday, 14 April , 2006 @ 11:40 am
This is some of the nastiness that’s become all to prevalent in politics now. Launch an orchestrated campaign against someone, drag them down. It’s shabby and it’s bad for the country. If you notice, a lot of my posts on articles/columns aren’t really partisan - they’re slams on the reports themselves.
BlackJack - the lefties (Kos on outwards) have been gunning for Joe. Screamin’ Howie’s brother is leading the campaign for a primary challenger.
By Black Jack, Friday, 14 April , 2006 @ 2:37 pm
Gauis,
Yes, I know what they say, but I don’t believe it. The Lefty loons can jump up and down, yell, scream, point fingers, and do the funky monkey for all I care. It’s all for show, nothing but bravado, a display done to maintain party discipline and frighten possible strays back into the fold.
Notice the praise for GOP “Maverick” John McCain, and the open disdain for any among our Progressive friends who stray from the Left’s Party Line. To the Left, mavericks are fine and dandy, so long as they’re Republicans, no such behavior can be tolerated among those of the one true faith.
The Left is full of sound and fury, but they come up shot on action. It’s all noise, boys.
By Gauis Arbo, Friday, 14 April , 2006 @ 2:51 pm
I think it sounds pretty serious, Jack. The NYT had an article up about Dean’s brother.