Rumsfeld Departure Gives Bush Breathing Room
The departure of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld gives the Bush administration some breathing room as it tries to rebuild public support for the Iraq war in the wake of Democratic gains in yesterday's congressional elections.
Rumsfeld will be replaced by Robert Gates, former director of central intelligence and currently president of Texas A&M University. Gates is a former adviser to Bush's father and represents another example of Bush's reaching out to his father's advisers to strengthen, or bail out, his presidency. James Baker, former secretary of state to the elder Bush, is now cochairman of the Iraq Study Group, which is preparing a report on how to improve the situation in Iraq. Gates is a member of the group.
The president and his senior advisers realize that a big reason for their setbacks at the polls was growing opposition to the war. By pushing Rumsfeld out, Bush is removing the biggest symbol of his current Iraq policy and a very divisive figure in Washington.
Bush hopes that showing Rumsfeld the door will mute the criticism of his Iraq policy and give the Democrats and the country the idea that he is willing to seriously reconsider what to do next. It will take several months before the Senate can hold hearings and vote on Rumsfeld's successor. It is, however, unclear how much Bush is willing to change course in Iraq. In the meantime, Bush and his advisers hope the situation in Iraq improves considerably so there will be less pressure on the administration to pull out.
In public remarks this afternoon, Rumsfeld said the war is "not well understood," but he argued that victory is essential.
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