Rumsfeld announced his resignation today. That's one polarizing figure gone from the Bush Administration. For me it feels like Bush is saying "alright, I got the message!" with this one. Actually he said:
"I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made" [in Iraq]
Well fancy that.
Speaking of polarizing figures, a few weeks ago Karl Rove was on NPR speaking with Robert Siegel on Radio Day. During the interview Siegel asked Rove about the polls indicating a big win for Democrats on Election Day, and Rove was combative and dismissive and said "You've got your math, I've got THE MATH [which shows a Republic win]".
Bush just never seems to get it!
Voters weren't "...register[ing] their displeasure with the lack of progress being made [in Iraq]."
Voters were, in my opinion, registering their displeasure with the administration's insistence upon our presence in Iraq at all!
In this day and age, excuses such as "faulty intelligence" are pathetic euphemisms for "I did what I wanted, regardless of the Constitution that I swore to 'uphold and defend', and in spite of the people's obvious and majority disagreement with my decision, but... I'm not really a BAD guy... trust me!"
No wonder a great portion of the civilized world is greatly displeased, and in disagreement, with the United States and its position on occupation/policing of other nations.
I love the political ideals upon which America was birthed and I'm proud of those ideals. I do not support the direction and decision that America has made regarding many of its Middle East policies.
This makes me not some imagined "potential enemy combatant" but rather a patriot who exercises his ability to fairly contemplate the political actions of his country and to decide, for himself, that many of these actions are inconsistent with his country's Constitution.