TPM Reader BM responds:
I think you raise important points about hearings on Gates’ nomination. I’m all in favor of such. However, I can see a relatively simple logic for the Democrats moving cautiously here. The real reasons are public perception and speed. Remember, Bush is still pretending to be contrite and bipartisan (despite pushing Bolton for UN Ambassador). The Dems would like to make Bush eat the cost of being the first one to go partisan (though I doubt they are likely to win that particular point in the media).
More importantly, if the Republicans are saying the want Gates in and Rumsfeld out next week, how do the Dems respond? Should they say they want hearings delayed until they take over in January, then a month or more of hearings and a final vote in March? That is basically saying they want 5 more months of Rumsfeld. It’s not a winning position. Further, it allows the Republicans to blame the next 400 American deaths on the Dems by pointing out they kept Rumsfeld in even after the “realist Republicans” wanted him out. I’m not sure if that is a good argument for avoiding important hearings or not, but it needs to be considered and the perceptual ramifications dealt with.
I agree that these are political considerations that need to be addressed. But they strike me as relatively easy to dispense with. Bush is responsible for the first six years of Rumsfeld’s reign of terror at the Pentagon, and nothing says Rumsfeld has to remain until his successor is chosen. Ultimately, though, the focus should be on the President. Iraq is his policy, not Rumsfeld’s. If he’s worried about how long it will take to replace Rumsfeld, he shouldn’t have waited until now to start the wheels in motion.
In his interview last night with Larry King, Jim Webb adriotly sidestepped the question of whether he thought Rumsfeld should have resigned. His point, which is a good one, was to avoid making Rumsfeld the issue when our policy in Iraq is the Administration’s policy.
Update: Webb’s appearance on Larry King Live was actually last week.
