Reverse Retina 4.0

There are some that suggested Zell Miller would have been a better choice for Secdef. There are some that think changing out Rumsfeld was a bad idea to begin with. I’d argue that both are wrong and that the Bush team is thinking long term…

Miller is too much like Rumsfeld in their public personas. Whatever your opinion of them they are too easy to hate. They come off as arrogant and angry. When it comes to the average American (Dem of Rep) coming off as hot-headed and cocky is only good in certain situations. Dean lost the Dems because of the perception he was too angry. Those that only know Miller from his RNC appearance assume he has a short fuse. Gates comes off as cool and level headed. Even Tony Snow doesn’t go back at the media the way the Secdef does. He mixes equal parts charm and firmness. This is what Gates brings to the media battle. Plus it pushed the Dems win to the third paragraph of the story instead of it being the big headline for a full news cycle.

There are a couple of more reasons why Gates is a brillant move that a lot of people are overlooking…
1) the obvious “O.k., you took Congress and you want Rumsfeld gone. Here is the sacrifice. Now, lets get to work together.” But it doesn’t just end there.
2) In the near term, Gates is part of the Baker commission. Rumsfeld was hardheaded and would probably not have taken kindly to enacting any plan that was critical of him. Gates will have already bought off on the plan and will be well poised to enact it.
3) I’m not entirely sure how it works but I seem to recall that it is much harder for Congress to pull a private citizen before an Oversight hearing and even then it is tough to compel said citizen to talk. Having Gates in the hot seat keeps Rumsfeld from having to talk before Congress which protects him, Bush, Cheney, Rice, etc…from undo attacks.
4)It is going to take the Dems about 3-6 months to get everything organized. Then they have to schedule hearings. Say 9-12 months from now. Then we’re into the Presidental Campaign. If at any point in the confirmation process the Dems try to block Gates the GOP presidental hopefulls get to scream “The Dems said we needed a different direction in Iraq but they continue to try and block any real progress. They aren’t interested in fixing Iraq. They are playing politics with our troops lives.”
5) Finally, putting Gates in there now means that come 2008 when someone else takes the Whitehouse (Dem or Rep) he will have either “pulled victory from the jaws of defeat” or “He didn’t have enough time to pull it off”. Either way Bush gets credit for a success in Iraq or the next guy gets the “failure” label.

I’m by no means a political genius but I play one in the blogsphere.

This article just goes to show that Democracy is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.  You might recall that similar things have happened in Lebanon and the Palestein.  Let’s not forget that Putin was “put in” (get it?) to power through democratic elections.  Most African despots claim to be there via a fair vote and let’s not forget the worst example of democracy gone awry…Marion Barry!

The Washington Post ran this story and as much as I hate to give into my reptilian brain stem a slight smile crossed my face when I saw the headline.  Not that I felt any sympathy for Saddam, I just believe you shouldn’t take pleasure in the loss of life no matter how justified.  The big question we are left with now is: Does this change anything?  On the surface you’d think that it brings a sense of closure to the Iraqis but in reality Saddam has been nothing more than a figurehead for quite some time and the majority of the Sunnis knew he was never coming back.  So what happens now?  Basically the same thing that has been going on for past 3 years.  Sunnis v. Shia, Both+AQ v. US, Kurds v. everyone but us, and the real losers are the people that just want to live a normal life.  Often in war these are the people that lose out the most.  Blackfive seems to think that more money and more troops is the way to go (he also thinks that voting Republican is the only way to get those things).  Now maybe I’m a little more cynical than he is but I’d say it doesn’t matter who you vote for…Both sides talk a good game but if you listen real close to the Dems they aren’t ready to pull out either.  Clinton, Obama and the rest don’t really sound all that cut and run to me.  Being from IL I had the chance to meet Sen. Obama on one of his congressional visits to Iraq and believe me…He didn’t sound like he was ready to pull anyone out anytime soon.  You have a few, Murtha comes to mind, that are outright ready to pull the plug but, as best I can tell, they are in the minority.  No, both parties are pretty much the same…They have the same goals just different ways of getting there.  Will the Dems approach work better?  Who the hell knows.  While the political pundits seem sure the Dems are walking away with at least on half of congress it ain’t a lock by a long shot.  Regardless of who wins on Tuesday there is one thing that is certain…Saddam dead or alive won’t be involved and that is one victory no one can take away.

This is where I get in line with the conspiracy theorist.  I’ve already bought some property in the rural northwest.  Next on my shopping list…a phone that jams RFID chips.