Mehlman to step down from RNC post  —  WASHINGTON - Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, whose party lost both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, will step down from his post when his two-year term ends in January, GOP officials said Thursday.

Mehlman likely to leave RNC  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Several Republican sources tell CNN that Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman is all but certain to step down at the end of the year, and the White House already is searching for a replacement or replacements to lead the party into the 2008 presidential campaign cycle.

Marines Get the News From an Iraqi Host: Rumsfeld's Out.  'Who's Rumsfeld?'  —  Hashim al-Menti smiled wanly at the marine sergeant beside him on his couch.  The sergeant had appeared in the darkness on Wednesday night, knocking on the door of Mr. Menti's home.

Bush to Ask Lame Duck Congress to Confirm Gates  —  The White House said today that it would seek Senate confirmation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's successor in the lame duck Congress that is about to reconvene, and that it would seek confirmation of United Nations Ambassador John R. Bolton as well.

Extremely odd behavior from the Washington Post re: the President's Rumsfeld lie  —  It is now conclusively clear that President Bush lied last week, several days before the election, when he vowed definitively to reporters that Donald Rumsfeld would remain as Defense Secretary for the next two years.