Top Items:
Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
RNC asks Steele to replace Mehlman — Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, whose party just lost both chambers of Congress, will leave his position in January, and the post as party chief has been offered to Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.
Discussion:
QandO, The Moderate Voice, Don Surber, Alabama Liberation Front and Shakespeare's Sister
RELATED ITEMS:
Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
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.
Mark / CNN Political Ticker:
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.
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Troops Fear The Loss Of Rumsfeld — American troops concerned with the loss of Donald Rumsfeld spoke to Martin Fletcher of the Times of London, worried that the new Secretary of Defense would pull them out of Iraq before they could complete the mission: … The American troops believe in the mission they serve.
RELATED ITEMS:
C. J. Chivers / New York Times:
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.
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
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.
David Stout / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Whiskey Bar, The Reaction, The Washington Note, The Raw Story and AMERICAblog
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Removal of Rumsfeld Dates Back to Summer — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld walking back to his motorcade Thursday after touring the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kan. — President Bush was moving by late summer toward removing Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary, people inside and outside the White House said Thursday.
RELATED ITEMS:
Caren Bohan / Reuters:
Bush makes push for approval of UN envoy Bolton
Bush makes push for approval of UN envoy Bolton
Discussion:
Hot Air, Associated Press, Fox News, The Washington Note, Atlas Shrugs, Flopping Aces and Outside The Beltway
Oskar Garcia / Associated Press:
McGovern to Meet With Congress on War — George McGovern, the former senator and Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday that he will meet with more than 60 members of Congress next week to recommend a strategy to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by June.
Discussion:
Riehl World View, Cold Fury, Blogs for Bush, No More Mister Nice Blog, Silent Running, Redstate and TigerHawk
RELATED ITEMS:
Michelle R. Smith / Associated Press:
Chafee unsure of staying with GOP after losing election — PROVIDENCE, R.I. —Two days after losing a bid for a second term in an election seen as a referendum on President Bush and the Republican Party, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he was unsure whether he'd remain a Republican. — "I haven't made any decisions.
Times of London:
Handover to Iraqi Army 'set for the end of next year' — American and Iraqi officials have set a date for giving Iraq's forces responsibility for security across the country. — Under a plan to be presented to the UN Security Council next month, the Iraqi Government would assume authority …
RELATED ITEMS:
CNN:
Webb promises 'diplomatic solution' in Iraq — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Less than an hour after Virginia Republican Sen. George Allen conceded and the U.S. Senate was handed to the Democrats, Jim Webb addressed a cheering crowd. — Before he spoke, Webb waved a pair of combat boots in the air …
RELATED ITEMS:
Kate Ackley / Roll Call:
Out-of-Work GOP Aides Face Tough Road Ahead — The hundreds of Republican staffers — not to mention more than a few Members — who will lose their jobs in the next few weeks are going to face a hostile marketplace on K Street as unemployed Republicans flood the market.
Associated Press:
NY congressman says no offense intended with Mississippi remark — JACKSON, Miss. - A Democratic congressman from New York says he wasn't trying to insult Mississippi in published remarks Thursday, but a Republican colleague from Mississippi says Rep. Charles Rangel should apologize to the state.
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Only a Minor Earthquake — How serious is the "thumpin' " the Republicans took on Tuesday? Losing one house is significant but hardly historic. Losing both houses, however, is defeat of a different order of magnitude, the equivalent in a parliamentary system of a vote of no confidence.