Rumsfeld should have resigned in 2004

Donald Rumsfeld should have resigned or been booted two years ago. According to Bob Woodward's new book, State of Denial, which is a book you should read, Bush's chief of staff Andy Card was lobbying to have Rumsfeld replaced after the 2004 election. Bush sent Colin Powell packing and named Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State but just couldn't dump Rumsfeld. If he had done so two years ago, and replaced him with somebody willing to listen to Rice and the generals, who knows where we would be in Iraq today.

The unwillingness to listen to the generals or to anybody else with a contrary opinion has been the chief distinguishing failure of Rumsfeld, Bush and Cheney. Questions and contrary opinions are viewed as disloyalty, and disloyalty is viewed as giving aid and comfort to the terrorists abroad and at home.

None of them are lawyers. A law school education is three years of questions and answers, the "Socratic method." In practice, lawyers eat, breathe and dream questions. You'd better be able to give plausible answers to questions from your clients, partners, and particularly judges.

Bush and Rumsfeld were in the military, as pilots. You have to wonder what they learned from their experience. Army and Marine officers have one purpose in life and that is to get the mission accomplished, and to do it smartly while protecting your troops. Doing it smartly means changing with the fortunes or misfortunes of war. Bush and Rumsfeld locked themselves into getting into Iraq with no clear plan for getting out, no clear definition of "victory," and no tolerance for questions or contrary opinions. The election on Tuesday sent them a message and it is a pity they weren't sent that message in 2004.