Rumsfeld's a goner

Much like Harriet Miers and Mike Brown before him, Rumsfeld is facing enormous (and bi-partisan) demands for resignation. Now that Bush has (for the second time in a week) publicly supported him in strong and certain tones, I predict a resignation coming within the next month or so.

That's been the pattern.

The sooner Rumsfeld's gone, the sooner we can begin healing our armed forces and making some long-needed adjustments to the fiascos they've been forced into. On the other side of the coin, the sooner Rumsfeld's gone, the stronger Republicans will be in November.

And that, I submit, is precisely why his fate is sealed. Rumsfeld becomes the "Mike Brown" of Iraq and all that ails us from a foreign policy perspective- though Bush will defend him to the end and leave it to others to place the blame.

Sometime in the near future:

George W. Bush stands in the Rose Garden with Donald Rumsfeld. He looks into the cameras and squints. "Donald Rumsfeld has lead our armed forces through challenging times. No president wants war, but on September the 11th, 2001, war came to our shores. Over the past 5 years, Don Rumsfeld has shaped our military to combat the threat posed by terrorists around the world, and has brought the fight to their shores so we don't have to fight them here. He has overseen successful battles in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has lead numerous activities in other nations, both known and unknown. Difficult times require strong leaders who have the courage to do what's necessary to defeat the enemy. Don Rumsfeld has served with my full confidence and support, and deserves the respect of all Americans. But there are some in this country who would rather turn away from our responsibility than take action. There are people who look at the global war on terrorism, and see the challenges before us, and have decided that we should not fight this war. Some of these people are in our armed forces, and their cries of retreat have been aimed at Don Rumsfeld. This morning, Don offered me a letter of resignation. I didn't want to accept it, but Don's patriotism and determination to win this war have lead him to believe that he has become a distraction from the important issues themselves. In order to win the war, Don has offered to stand down. This is the ultimate act of courage, and sacrifice. History will judge us by our determination to win the global war on terror and spread democracy through the darkest corners of the world. No one has served with more determination than Don Rumsfeld, and I am sad to see him go, but we must move forward."

Or something like that.