Do you think Donald Rumsfield should step down? Why?
479124
I believe that 80% of our elected officials should step down, especially the governor of Arizona it made me sick when I heard about the veto today.
877703
It's called falling on your sword.  People have been complaining about Rumsfeld and the aimless way the war in Iraq has been conducted.  He should have been fired in 2004.  After the Republican's monumental loss last night, Bush had to make a show that he finally gets it.  Yeah, they said Rumsfeld resigned, but he was asked to resign to make it look like Bush is making a fresh start.
313626
I,m an Albertan. \nNo, I think Ralph has had his run and it is time to move on. I did enjoy my Ralphie bucks though. \nAnd this is completely unrelated but GO FLAMES GO!\n\nJust heard today(April 4th)that he is indeed stepping down. I do think it's kind of lame that his party showed so little support.
787055
Why should they?  He was just a front man for the screwy policies of Rumsfeld and Cheney, the two men who gave us our foreign policy.  (That's why Colim Powell quit, by the way.)  Bush is just a dummy.
980565
Rummy was fired.  He became a sacrificial lamb because he was the target of both sides.  The Democrats reviled him for having been the architect of much of the failed Iraq war policies.  And the military establishment hated him because the organizational reforms he put in reduced the number of bases and required more inter-service cooperation.\n\nMilitary officers despise base closings. Why?  Because every base requires a senior officer--a general or a colonel--as a base commander.  If you close a militry base, you eliminate a position for a general.  Fewer positions at the top mean fewer opportunities for promotion.   For years, the military has lobbied Congress to keep lots of unnecessary bases open.  It meant jobs for the Congressman's district and it meant jobs for the military officers.  Rumsfeld, to his credit, took on the brass and started to institute reforms.  They never forgave him.\n\nSame thing for purchasing.  Every branch of the service had its own procurement, which meant, for example, that the army had different helicopters from the marines, and the navy had different fighter planes than the air force.  It was (and mostly still is) a total waste of taxpayers' money.  Rumsfeld started to break up a lot of that, and the brass hated him for it.\n\nAnd then, when the Iraq war strategy began to unravel, Rumsfeld lost whatever civilian support he had had.  Now, Bush needs to get along with a Democratic Congress, and Rumsfeld is too much of a lightning rod.  He had to go.\n\nGood luck!!
941548
Surprisingly I think its starting to already. I imagine Pelosi calling him on the middle of the night Tuesday, "wanna keep your job? GET rid of Rumsfeld, NOW" Looks like Bolton's  coming down now too from the UN and Melman's leaving the RNC! Its fun to watch all the rats jump from  a sinking ship.\n\nOk btw, the GOP led us into Iraq and obviously couldn't find their way out, nor a wet paper bag! Our president is playing games while our boys are dying, and now its ALL the democrats responsibility to bail his ass out? Fat chance
577151
As far as I can tell,most people are fed up with him and his bunch of cronies,personally I feel it's time for him to go.He hasn't been very consistent(Charles Clarke is the best man for the job,2 days later,he's the first to be sacked!),he has lost the trust of the country over the whole Iraq fiasco and now his cabinet seems to be in meltdown,time to admit defeat and leave while he still can,before he's pushed.
353974
I believe so.When five retired generals think he should go,that's a pretty good sign that he has not gotten the job done.Personally,I would have aked him to resign long before now.This war has been a farce.Our troops went in woefully unprepared for the combat they are now engaged in.We did not take the insurgents into consideration.Why not? Isn't that part of Rumsfeld's job? The sheer arrogance of this man is appalling.He ,like our president , will never admit to mistakes made.They just keep telling the American citizens to be patient.Baloney.There is no exit strategy now and who knows when we can expect any.We're in such a mess now that I don't know if there is a way out that will allow us to save face with the world or not.There is something wrong when practically all the president's cabinet and colleagues are at the center of controversy every time you turn on the television.
600546
He has one go around at mid-term replacements, but neglected one of the most important, that needs to be replaced and that is Rumsfield. Yes there is a element of corruption from the top on down.
853206
I think for the last year President Bush has been the fall guy for Rumsfield but loyalty is high on his agenda. His administration has more friends than many think - the election is over & to take the next election will require unity. We proved every man for himself did not work. The ranks will close. My state went 82% Republican including several Democrat seats to state Senate & House. We split our national House seats. Conservatives & Moderates will learn the Democrats do not speak for them. This could be a good thing - sacrificial lambs.
970664
I never wanted the troops to go in the first place.\n\nOne could say we might be seeing the GOP cut and run on this one, what with Rummy bidding a fond adieu.
861498
Although I highly doubt that he will leave of his own will, if he did leave I think it would leave a big slot to fill for whomever stepped into it. He's made such a mess of things with the military. It would be great if he left, one way or the other, but it would be intersting to see who would step in to his place. Anyone with prior military experience I think would be better for the job.
749774
A better question is:  why didn't Rumsfeld resign earlier?
957396
Let's get one thing straight.  He did not "resign".  Bush asked him to leave.  In all of the previous calls for his resignation, he had said that he serves at the pleasure of the President.  That said, it's not a cut-and-run.  It gives the American people and the American government a fresh start-someone who can lead the war effort without having to worry about what the American people will think.  Rummy will always be blamed for anything that goes wrong with the war, so now it's time for someone who can honestly say, "I wasn't the one who was running it from the beginning, I just want to get the job done, and as quickly as possible.  I don't want to dwell on any possible mistakes; the past is the past, and this is what we have to get through."
772902
The President said today that he decided to replace Don a week ago but continued to claim to support him so as not to influence the outcome of the elections.\n\nThis was both a lie (lying to the public) and a major blunder on Bush's side. If he had canned Rummy a week before the elections Republicans might have been able to save some of the seats they lost yesterday.
832231
It's acceptable, but I don't really see how life will change much without Rumsfeld. Politics in Washington DC will remain corrupt as usual. Life goes on.\n\nHowever, I agree that Rumsfeld took too much of the blame. The blame extends to the Bush Administration and Congress, both Democrat and Republican politicians alike... and it also extends to the Perfumed Princes and "yes-men" Generals in control of our military. The Bush Administration should be faulted for the bad policies they decide to carry out. The Congress, Democrats and Republicans, need to quit fighting each other and worrying about their own parties (and re-elections) and for once do what's best for the Country and the People. Democrat politicians need to stop complaining about why we're in Iraq and start finding solutions. Yes-Men in the Joint Chiefs and Pentagon and wherever they are need to be weeded out immediately, replaced by combat-vets who can say "No." and know the situation on the ground (probably by being in Iraq where the action is instead of an air-conditioned office in the E-Ring) And finally, Americans need to stop being polarized in politics and abandon the corrupt party platforms and start working together to find solutions.\n\nI would speculate that Rumsfeld was an easy target to become a scrapegoat. He was probably the only one to take the fall of Iraq because of the corrupt politics that goes on in our Country, but later on probably won't be the last one.
1075203
Only if thats what he wants. I think he has retired from public office. The Iraq speech  was bad for him. He was too use to taking orders.