Sunday, October 01, 2006
Rumsfeld The Great...Or Not
“Get it right this time.” - Dick Cheney to Donald Rumsfeld immediately after the Defense Secretary was sworn in.
Whoops!
A Newsweek excerpt from Bob Woodward's upcoming State of Denial provides a fascinating view of the fatal mix of arrogance, incompetence, and insolence so characteristic of Don Rumsfeld.
'“I’m the secretary of defense,” Rumsfeld insisted repeatedly in his first months in 2001. “I’m in the chain of command.” He—not the generals, not the Joint Chiefs of Staff—would deal with the White House and the president on operational matters. Rumsfeld micromanaged daily Pentagon life and rode roughshod over people. In one public confrontation at a hearing with Senator Susan Collins, the earnest Maine Republican, Rumsfeld had put her down in a manner that was stunning even for him.'
(Nod to Charles Eakes for this excerpt)
Whoops!
A Newsweek excerpt from Bob Woodward's upcoming State of Denial provides a fascinating view of the fatal mix of arrogance, incompetence, and insolence so characteristic of Don Rumsfeld.
'“I’m the secretary of defense,” Rumsfeld insisted repeatedly in his first months in 2001. “I’m in the chain of command.” He—not the generals, not the Joint Chiefs of Staff—would deal with the White House and the president on operational matters. Rumsfeld micromanaged daily Pentagon life and rode roughshod over people. In one public confrontation at a hearing with Senator Susan Collins, the earnest Maine Republican, Rumsfeld had put her down in a manner that was stunning even for him.'
(Nod to Charles Eakes for this excerpt)
