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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.
Discussion:
Power Line, Outside The Beltway, The Political Pit Bull, The Moderate Voice, Salon, The Heretik and First Read
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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 E. Sanger / New York Times:
After Rumsfeld: Bid to Reshape the Brain Trust — Robert M. Gates, President Bush's choice to become defense secretary, has sharply criticized the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war and has made it clear that he would seek advice from moderate Republicans who have been largely frozen …
Daniel Henninger / Opinion Journal:
Like Father, Like Son? — Team 41 is a threat to the Bush legacy.
Like Father, Like Son? — Team 41 is a threat to the Bush legacy.
Patrick O'Connor / The Hill:
GOP furious about timing of Rumsfeld resignation
GOP furious about timing of Rumsfeld resignation
Discussion:
Alarming News, First Draft, Balloon Juice, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Ed Driscoll.com and Andrew Sullivan
Martin Fletcher / Times of London:
Troops fear Rumsfeld's exit will end their Iraq mission — Half of America and the upper echelons of the US military may be cheering Donald Rumsfeld's resignation from the post of Defence Secretary, but there was no rejoicing yesterday among those most directly affected by his decisions: the frontline soldiers in Iraq.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
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Media Matters for America:
Ignoring widespread agreement on core issues, media suggested wins by "conservative Democrats" will cause intraparty strife … In the wake of the November 7 midterm elections, numerous media figures have attributed the Democratic gains in the House and Senate to the number of wins by conservative or moderate Democratic challengers.
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Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Nancy Pelosi Is Ready to Be Voice of the Majority
Nancy Pelosi Is Ready to Be Voice of the Majority
Discussion:
Opinion
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
With Power Set to Be Split, Wiretaps Re-emerge as Issue — The Bush administration escalated its defense of the National Security Agency's domestic wiretapping program on Thursday, even as Democrats in Congress vowed to investigate the program aggressively once they assume power.
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Los Angeles Times:
Democrats are set to subpoena — The new majority is expected to hold hearings on military spending and the Iraq war — just for starters. — WASHINGTON — Rep. Ike Skelton knows what he will do in one of his first acts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led House …
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.
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Oh, why don't you just admit it? — Okay, I'm depressed about the election. — She asks herself a question, then answers it — Rumsfeldianly. — What is it, exactly? — It's the failure of Americans to support the war. It's the folding and crumpling because things didn't go well enough …
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Jeanne Cummings / Wall Street Journal:
Redistricting: Home to Roost — How Republicans' — Gerrymandering Efforts — May Have Backfired — WASHINGTON — Gerrymandering was supposed to cement Republican control of the House of Representatives, offering incumbents a wall of re-election protection even as public opinion turned sharply against them.
W. Thomas Smith, Jr / Townhall.com:
The magic of "a few good men" — In his latest book, America's Victories - Why the U.S. wins wars and will win the war on terror, national defense and economics historian Dr. Larry Schweikart describes the performance of U.S. troops during the 2003 invasion of Iraq: "The Marines …
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
On a Shifting Field, a Sense of Rising Expectations — It was no doubt inadvertent, but it was hard not to find some symbolism in the moment Thursday in the Oval Office when President Bush seemed to forget that Vice President Dick Cheney was in the room. — Representatives Nancy Pelosi …