No truth or consequences

Just because U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld doesn't know how to conduct a winning war doesn't mean one shouldn't admire how he dodges bullets during news conferences. He has a nasty -- but admittedly often witty -- manner. But I don't think I would ever have wanted him as my dad.

Here's how it went down today between Rummy and CNN's Jamie McIntyre, who like many in Washington, has been hearing rumours of the Secretary's imminent termination resignation:

MCINTYRE: Mr. Secretary, I’m just curious, do you feel at all embattled at this point in your tenure given the fact that…

RUMSFELD: No.

MCINTYRE: Aside from the retired two-star general calling you “incompetent” and asking you to step down in an op-ed over the weekend, you also had a call from Maureen Dowd, in which she quoted an unnamed administration official saying that you don’t hold the same sway in meetings and that you’re treated as “an eccentric old uncle who’s ignored.”

RUMSFELD: You like to repeat all that stuff don’t you—on camera? Did you get it? Let’s make sure you got it. He love that is stuff. It’s a sure way to get on camera. He’ll be on the evening news.

MCINTYRE: I know you like to have the facts in the premise of the question.

RUMSFELD: Yes, I do. And you did it very well. No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can do one-arm pushups and put all this to rest.

  RUMSFELD: The answer is no.

  MCINTYRE: Do you hold the same sway in meetings?

  RUMSFELD: Oh, come on. I’m not going to get into that — Pam.

  QUESTION: Sir, in your opening statement you said…

  RUMSFELD: If you believe everything you read from Maureen Dowd, you’d  better get a life.

Dowd wrote that Rumsfeld is being "treated as an eccentric old uncle who is ignored."

Word is that the Bushies want to keep him away from the preznit to avoid the stink of death and failure. It's been noticed that Rumsfeld wasn't part of the good news parade on the last Sunday morning's round of talk shows.

But we all know that Bush never punishes the screw-ups. So maybe Rumsfeld will be promoted to ... um, just how high is his his level of incompetence anyway?

Comments

I've always thought the Pentagon press corps had a bizarro/sicko S&M relationship with Rumsfeld. Most news conferences follow a similar pattern. Rumsfled begins by toying with a reporter, bantering away in an "aw, shucks" way. But within a few minutes, he shifts gears and unleashes the venom by saying something truly vicious. Then the reporters come back for more. What choice do they have? They have jobs to do. But what's always puzzled me is why reporters refer to Rumsfled's "wit".

Wit? Try the calculated cruelty of a bully who rules by fear.

Runsfled also demeans and humiliates military leaders in public. The message is the same one communicated to reporters: "I can get away with it. I am stong. You are weak."

Little of this dynamic makes its way into day-to-day reporting. But the few viewers who watch hearings or news conferences in full see a much different picture.

Things may change now that Bush's poll numbers have dropped. I'll bet that every Pentagon reporters has plenty of anti-Rumsfeld ammo. They may start using it.

Which is better than being stuck in "Please, Sir, may I have another?" mode

[D Shapiro]

I don't have a link, because I was reading it at another computer, earlier today, but I recommend E.J. Dionne's column in today's Washington Post, pointing out that Bush is blaming the government for his administration's shortcomings (Dionne asks pointedly who the government is, if not the President?). The idea is: anyone may be at fault, but not me. Clearly, this has worked as a tactic, but it doesn't hold water as an explanation. The "government," the media, whoever. How does this pass muster as politics? It looks like a clever nine-year-old's way of keeping punishment at bay. Most Americans aren't that stupid, and George W. Bush is digging about as deep a hole as can be dug. Two years ago, I would have said he was one of the two or three worst presidents ever. Now it is clear that he has no peer at the bottom. And two terms to play with!

[Antonia]

It's a great column, D! Thanks for pointing it out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/23/AR2006032301133.html

[Bill-Muskoka]

Ah, the law of politics and sewage prevails.

Some things just naturally rise to the top!

[Bill-Muskoka]

Antonia,

Thanks for the link!

Oh this cracked me up! "FEMA has said they will be stored for future disasters." Yeah, like the Congressional election coming up!

Funny how close FEMA and ENEMA are, eh? LMAO!