NYT: Rumsfeld Draws Republicans' Ire

[huckleberry]

Is Rummy now really on his way out?

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 — Last Friday, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and his top Democratic colleague sent a private letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that questioned the propriety of comments made by a top Pentagon general, William G. Boykin.

Mr. Rumsfeld not only did not respond, but on Tuesday, after the chairman, Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, made the letter public, the defense secretary said he knew nothing about it. "It may be somewhere around the building," Mr. Rumsfeld told reporters on Capitol Hill, "but I am not aware of it."

The episode was described this week by senior Republican Congressional officials as emblematic of what some now openly call the high-handedness and lack of respect shown by Mr. Rumsfeld, whose steps and missteps in the past month have drawn increasing Republican ire.

snip

... White House officials have also made clear that they are increasingly frustrated and impatient with Mr. Rumsfeld, particularly after he publicly criticized the president's closest foreign policy adviser, Condoleezza Rice, earlier this month in an internal power struggle that the defense secretary made public.

A Republican who is close to the White House said the view there had been that Mr. Rumsfeld "went off the deep end" in his reaction earlier this month to Mr. Bush's decision to designate Ms. Rice as the overall coordinator of Iraq policy. "The worst thing that can happen in Washington is if you're a cabinet member, you think you're bigger than the president," the Republican said.


MUCH more at

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/24/politics/24RUMS.html?...

[librechik]

1. Rummy's lost it--soon they'll find him naked playing in the

pond in the mall.

[Sagan]

Ha ha ha! I LOVE this bit!

*snip*

A Republican who is close to the White House said the view there had been that Mr. Rumsfeld "went off the deep end" in his reaction earlier this month to Mr. Bush's decision to designate Ms. Rice as the overall coordinator of Iraq policy. "The worst thing that can happen in Washington is if you're a cabinet member, you think you're bigger than the president," the Republican said.

*snip*


How could ANYONE in the misAdminstration NOT think they're bigger than Chimpy? I mean, Rumsfeld and Rice and Ashcroft et al are certainly evil, but they're also far far smarter and more accomplished than the Dim Son.

[thinkahead]

2. Is this it,

newsguyatl?

[wabeewoman]

5. Is this it???

I've been wondering that about every new story. Is this the big one newguy said to watch for?? Can't remember the date he said tho....

[diplomats]

6. I thought the story newsguy was referring to

was going to impact the presidential campaign. BTW, has he posted lately?

[thinkahead]

8. Only Dean

and a few others called for Rumsfeld to Resign

[diplomats]

10. I think the first Dem to call for that was Rep. David Obey

a high-ranking House member. Some of the Dem candidates followed.

[kainah]

3. they may be setting him up for a fall

Rummy may end up being the designated scapegoat. PNACheney seems to be tiring of him.

[frank frankly]

4. bye-bye, Rummy

See you in Nuremberg, you nazi!

[FlemingsGhost]

7. No longer a doubt in my mind... Rummy goes first.

If the NY Times is floating this, he's done.

Let's watch as they all find a reason to flee the crime scene.

(on edit: additional thought)

[diplomats]

9. The Times is not alone

see this on http://talkingpointsmemo.com

Of late, The New York Daily News has become ground-zero for anti-Rumsfeld leaks from the White House. Here’s today’s example: “Rummy’s on Hot Seat: Glum Memo on War Steams White House.”

So why’s all this stuff going to the Daily News?

I suspect there’s a fairly straightforward answer.

It’s not the Daily News. It’s Daily News Washington Bureau Chief Tom DeFrank. All the stories have his byline.

The other big one was from October 10th (“President reportedly unhappy with Rumsfeld, Powell”).

DeFrank has deep ties with various Bush One insiders including the president. (I discussed this in May 2001.) DeFrank even co-wrote James Baker’s Bush years memoir.

Back in early 2001 DeFrank was a major conduit for the later discredited White House vandalism mumbo-jumbo. But that was when the Bush One/Bush Two split wasn't nearly as salient as it is now.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing necessarily untoward about this. Reporters have to work their sources. But it does seem like DeFrank has become the go-to reporter for some Bush One type at or in the orbit of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Oh, who could that be ….

[salin]

11. wow. "It may be somewhere around the building,"

oh my - NOT a good way to respond.

[leesa]

13. Probably in the same drawer as those trillions of missing dollars

How long can they pretend that bush is a president, do you suppose?

[J B]

12. Given that they think Bush is the 2nd Coming...

Rumsfeld must think he's "Bigger than Jesus".