Rumsfeld ran his course

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld often said he would serve the Bush administration as long as he was effective.

For months, support for Rumsfeld and his Iraq policy has been eroding. His clashes with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, were well known. A growing number of Democrat — and Republican — members of Congress have called for his resignation. In recent days, the Gannett Co.-owned Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times editorialized that "Donald Rumsfeld must go." Through it all, President Bush steadfastly backed Rumsfeld. As recently as Nov. 1, Bush said that he wanted Rumsfeld to remain as his defense secretary through the remainder of his presidency.

But this past weekend — mere days before Tuesday's election — Bush was laying the groundwork for Texas A&M University President Bob Gates, a former head of the Central Intelligence Agency who has long-standing ties to the Bush family, to be Rumsfeld's successor. On Wednesday, after Democrats gained control of the House and, very likely, the Senate in the mid-term elections, Rumsfeld announced his resignation.

In many respects, the election was a referendum on the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq. The results sent a strong message that Americans want a change in course, and clearly that would not occur with Rumsfeld as head of the Pentagon.

Bush may have also been sending a message to Democrats regarding his willingness to work hand-in-hand with them on achieving a solutions in Iraq. After losing the House and the Senate to Democrats, Bush needed to telegraph that he would work with the new majority party to address domestic issues such as education, Social Security and border security.

Democrats, for their part, now need to reciprocate by signalling they intend to reach out to the administration and be cooperative, too. With Bush unable to run, and with Vice President Dick Cheney also not a potential candidate, the next two years could offer a unique opportunity for Congress and the president to interact without the heavy overtones of political ambition.

As for Gates, his appointment appears to be a savvy choice. As a member of the Iraq Study Group, a government task force that will soon deliver an independent assessment of the situation in Iraq, Gates has thorough knowledge of the challenges ahead. Furthermore, Gates is the only career officer in CIA history to rise from entry-level employee to director, according to his biography on the Texas A&M University Web site.

Gates' nomination, which must be confirmed by the Senate, also shifted focus temporarily from the "thumpin'" Republicans experienced in the mid-term election, to use Bush's term. But more so, it reflected the new reality along the Beltway — the need for a Republican president with two years left in his term to find a means to work cooperatively with a Congress controlled by the Democratic party.