Bob "Douchebag of Liberty" Novak: "Bush is no malevolent tyrant..."

[Human Torch]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/22/AR2006112201620.html

A Bad Omen in Rumsfeld's Firing

By Robert D. Novak
Thursday, November 23, 2006; Page A39



In the two weeks since the election, I have asked a wide assortment of Republican notables their opinion of the Rumsfeld sacking. Only one went on the record: Rep. Duncan Hunter, the House Armed Services Committee chairman. A rare undeviating supporter of Rumsfeld, Hunter told me that "it was a mistake for him to resign." The others, less supportive of Rumsfeld, said they were "appalled" -- the most common descriptive word -- by the president's performance.

The treatment of his war minister connotes something deeply wrong with George W. Bush's presidency in its sixth year. Apart from Rumsfeld's failures in personal relations, he never has been anything short of loyal in executing the president's wishes. But loyalty appears to be a one-way street for Bush. His shrouded decision to sack Rumsfeld after declaring that he would serve out the second term fits the pattern of a president who is secretive and impersonal.

Lawrence Lindsey had been assured that he would be retained as the president's national economic adviser, but he received word around 5 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2002, that he would be fired the next day. Before Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill embarked on a dangerous mission to Afghanistan, he requested and received assurances that he would still have a job when he returned. Instead, he was dismissed in tandem with Lindsey.

Bush is no malevolent tyrant who concocts unpleasant surprises for his Cabinet members. Rather, letting the terminated official be one of the last to know of his imminent removal derives from congenital phobia over White House leaks that I have seen exhibited by Republicans dating to President Dwight Eisenhower (and leading to President Richard Nixon's fateful use of "plumbers" to plug leaks). The Bush team took pride in keeping secret Harriet Miers's nomination to the Supreme Court before keeping mum on the fate of Rumsfeld.

[Raster]

1. I cannot believe this douchebag still commands a byline.

[Union Thug]

2. Novak is right. There is not a malevolent bone in Bush's body. n/t

[acmejack]

3. Yeah he's a spineless creep.