Sorry for the lame Eminem reference, but I'm really starting to wonder about Donald Rumsfeld. Rummy wrote a memo a couple of weeks ago to his staff questioning the US's role in Iraq & Afghanistan. I haven't written about it up to now, but I was completely surprised by it. At first I wondered how such a doc could have surfaced to the public, then I realized that the memo must have been leaked on purpose. Why? Who knows... but my current belief is that Rummy wanted to save his ass, and the Admin let him do it. In other words, he was hedging his bets on public opinion of him - he's standing by Bush in the need for extended efforts, but he's also indicating that the Admin's PR campaign is full of it.
I can't say that I admire Rummy, but I do think his straight-at-ya nature is a good thing. So this thing about losing his Mojo is humorous. What's interesting though is that his candid nature makes people like him and trust him; as such the release of his memo is seen as insight into his candid thoughts. That they may be, but I don't for a second think that Rummy wrote it thinking it would be seen by just his staff. It was written for all to see. Whatever benefit that my get him, I don't know.
It's a nice sign to see a wider base of opinions coming from this Admin, but I don't for a second think this is out of the control of the powers that be (ie, Rove). Let's see how much more honest the Admin will be about the current state of affairs. The real question though is not if they'll be more honest (they must be if they hope to win in 2004), but the question is will they back up their honesty with action any different than now?
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