Comments on: Holding the Center

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 04:55:48 +0000

Rumsfeld… Cheney… Potayto… Potahto… Okay, I guess Cheney has better skin, a little less hair on top, a bigger waistline… different letters in his name… different responsibilities… But are there any other distinctions? Well, I suppose Rumsfeld never shot a 60 year old man in the face.

The thing about Rumsfeld is that hiring him was a huge mistake from the start. The kind that ultimately has a price. Bush only paid it now because it suddenly became even costlier to keep him around.

By: West

West — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 14:47:04 +0000

…which is probably why he dusted off his stand-up comedy routine before the press.

As far as damage control is concerned, though, I’d say they weathered this “thumpin’” pretty well.

By: Kelson

Kelson — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:37:02 +0000

Er… you mean Rumsfeld? Or did I miss something?

Oh, wait. I see you were posting at 1AM your time. No further explanation needed!

But yeah, I think you’re right: once he decided to drop Rumsfeld, it was a no-win scenario as far as campaign spin.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:58:23 +0000

From what I’ve seen on CNN and MSNBC, a lot of Republicans are furious that Bush didn’t say something about dropping Cheney before the election because they feel they were forced to stand by the war and that dropping Cheney before the election might have signaled a change of direction that would have satisfied enough swing voters to keep them in office.

I’m pretty sure they’d still have lost if he’d dropped Cheney a week ago. The difference would be that they’d be furious at Bush for showing signs of weakness at the last minute, etc.

By: Kelson

Kelson — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:29:45 +0000

I read in another article that Bush was talking to Gates over the weekend about a possible nomination. Someone suggested it might have been a contingency plan in case the election didn’t go the way they wanted. Someone else suggested it may simply have been a matter of keeping spirits up among Republican voters by keeping the resignation plans secret until after the election.

My favorite was the remark someone made on Slashdot that it was one heckuva flip-flop.

By: West

West — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 20:58:57 +0000

*fingers crossed*

I can’t stop wondering how one week made all the difference: “He’s staying.” “He’s leaving.”