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- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/2006/11/09/">November 09, 2006 >
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/adam_brookes/2006/11/rumsfeld_open_case.html">Rumsfeld: Open case
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/adam_brookes/">Adam Brookes
- 8 Nov 06, 10:52 PM
There's a term used often in the military - "%3Ca%20href="https://www.armystudyguide.com/content/powerpoint/EO_Presentations/establish-a-positive-comm-2.shtml">command climate".
It signifies the atmosphere that a senior leader generates through his language, his behaviour, his attitude. The command climate seeps down from the top and influences the way the entire chain of command makes its decisions.
The command climate that %3Ca%20href="https://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld.html">Donald Rumsfeld generated in the Pentagon was unforgiving. He questioned everything and everybody.
His memos - known as "Rummy's snowflakes" because they came in blizzards - would have officers at their wits' end.
Major General John Batiste, after he retired, called him "arrogant" and "abusive".
Bob Woodward, in his book %3Ca%20href="https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15103632/site/newsweek/">State of Denial, recounts seeing the then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, %3Ca%20href="https://www.defenselink.mil/bios/myers_bio.html">General Richard Myers, with his head in his hands after another meeting with Sec Def.
An army major I once met said bluntly: "Rumsfeld hates us, he hates the army." I think that few in the uniformed military will be sad to see him gone.
But Rumsfeld saw himself as crusading against military inertia and conservatism. He loathed what he saw as the military's addiction to outmoded, expensive weapons platforms and its desire to fight only the wars it already knew how to fight.
In common with many of President Bush's advisers, he believed that America should not respond to the world, it should transform the world. For Rumsfeld that meant transforming the military, Afghanistan, Iraq, the very environment in which America's adversaries operate worldwide.
It will be a long time before history reaches a stable verdict on Donald Rumsfeld's second tenure as Secretary of Defense.
Many of his decisions will be condemned. His inability to ensure control Baghdad immediately after US troops stormed into the city will, I imagine, be reviled.
But his understanding of the threats that America faces today, and his instincts as to how America should answer them, will be the subject of long debate.
Adam Brookes is the 大象传媒's Pentagon correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/matt_frei/2006/11/fathers_and_sons_1.html">Fathers and sons
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/matt_frei/">Matt Frei
- 8 Nov 06, 08:36 PM
%3Ca%20href="https://www.tamu.edu/president/biography.html">Bob Gates, the new Secretary of Defence, is a friend of President Bush's father.
Coming on the heels of the appointment of %3Ca%20href="https://bakerinstitute.org/Persons/H-Chair.htm">James Baker to head the Iraq Study Group, think of it as the friends of Bush the father coming in to save the White House of the son.
A sort of Shakespearean family drama but with global repercussions.
Matt Frei is the 大象传媒's senior North America TV correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/justin_webb/2006/11/bush_no_room_to_hide_1.html">Bush: No room to hide
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/justin_webb/">Justin Webb
- 8 Nov 06, 07:18 PM
Only last week, Vice-President Dick Cheney said he and Mr Bush were not up for election - it would be full speed ahead in Iraq, irrespective of the result of the mid-term polls.
That full-speed-ahead policy has hit a wall.
President Bush, faced with the prospect of a bitter fight with the newly powerful Democrats - a fight he would probably lose - has opted for appeasement. He has thrown raw meat to the Democrats, in the shape of his defence secretary, %3Ca%20href="https://www.defenselink.mil/bios/rumsfeld.html">Donald Rumsfeld.
He was asked whether this amounted to a new direction. He couldn't quite bring himself to say yes, but he did say that the man he had asked to replace Mr Rumsfeld, former CIA director %3Ca%20href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6130302.stm">Robert Gates, would provide new leadership and a fresh perspective.
Mr Bush knows and has accepted that his Iraq policy has been repudiated. There is no room for pretence and no room to hide.
If the Democrats can come up with a better plan, he is ready - desperate even - to hear about it.
Justin Webb is the 大象传媒's chief North America radio correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/jamie_coomarasamy/2006/11/a_gloomy_morning.html">A gloomy morning
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/jamie_coomarasamy/">Jamie Coomarasamy
- 8 Nov 06, 02:13 PM
It's a pretty wet and gloomy morning here in northern Virginia - rainy, overcast, and pretty depressing for the folks here. And it's depressing because they voted in record numbers (for mid-term elections) here, but they still don't know who their senator will be.
When George Allen, the incumbent here, got up to speak last night, some expected him to concede - he's a few thousand down in the polls - but he vowed to fight on. So if there is less than one percent between Allen and the Democratic challenger Jim Webb when all the votes are counted, we could face recounts, litigation, and possibly a long, drawn-out contest.
George Allen - once considered a presidential hopeful for 2008 - could yet decide it's not worth the challenge, but the matter could drag on for several weeks yet.
Jamie Coomarasamy is a Washington correspondent for 大象传媒 News.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/gavin_esler/2006/11/gridlock_and_paralysis.html">Gridlock and paralysis
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/gavin_esler/">Gavin Esler
- 8 Nov 06, 02:11 PM
With the future of the government of the most powerful country on earth in the balance I'm delighted that %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/gavin_esler/2006/11/whos_not_bush.html">my blog yesterday attracted an enormous response - from those who felt I had dissed American breakfasts.
Now I know that compared to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the so-called War on Terror and the record budget deficit plus wage stagnation and the US house price slump, what I think of American breakfasts may seem a little trivial. But not to some of the bloggers. %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/gavin_esler/2006/11/whos_not_bush.html">One accused me of being anti-American for daring to suggest eggs benedict with fried potatoes and bacon is a "heart attack on a plate" when consumed at seven o'clock in the morning.
I'm not anti-American. But I am very strongly anti American bacon - the worst bacon in the world. Is the fat specially put into it in long strips and then the whole thing cremated in order to produce the highest number of potential carcinogens? And eggs benedict? Eggs with yellow slime on a soggy piece of cardboard? That's a breakfast?
Anyway, now to the slightly more important matter of the future of the world. One big loser last night - George Bush. Two big winners - the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton. The 2008 presidential election campaign is now underway. Senator John McCain - another likely runner - said in response to the dismal Republican results that his party had gone to change Washington but Washington had - unfortunately - changed his party.
What happens now? My guess is that we'll have a lot of the usual cliches - "we'll work together, bipartisanship, let's get together to make it work, blah blah blah." And then - as the political consultant Dick Morris put it - gridlock, paralysis and George W Bush spending the next two years dodging subpoenas, as Hillary and John McCain and the others place themselves for the 2008 race.
Gavin Esler presents 大象传媒 TV's %3Ca%20href="/newsnight/">Newsnight programme
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/james_westhead/2006/11/sound_bites.html">Political soundbites
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/james_westhead/">James Westhead
- 8 Nov 06, 10:21 AM
Do Republicans have all the best soundbites?
It seemed that way as I hunted through tape after tape of final Democrat stump speeches and interviews looking for a good "clip" - the phrase we tend to use in the 大象传媒 rather than "soundbite". I had plenty to choose from in President Bush's final campaign speech in Texas - even though, as he himself admitted: "No one's ever accused me of being the best English speaker in America."
The point about a "clip" is that it has to express a single, simple idea in a clear concise way. You don't have to agree with it but you have to understand it and ideally it has to be short and delivered with passion. For some reason the Democrats' election supremo Chuck Schumer didn't deliver that as he peered over his glasses in press briefings. More surprisingly even, their chief cheerleader Bill Clinton - usually a good phrase-crafter - didn't hone one down for his last-minute stump speech.
There were lots of jokes, stories and unwieldy metaphors involving the founding fathers - but nothing that fitted into that all-important fifteen seconds. I know - how superficial of me. But it makes you wonder. Do the Democrats have any clear message? In the end I found a good clip from a very junior Democrat politician campaigning excitedly in Ohio, "Everywhere people stop me, saying they are going to vote Democrat." She added emphatically - "the reason? Because they are just completely fed up!"
The truth is that if the Democrats win - it will be largely because people voted against the Republicans, not for the Democrats. Maybe the Democrats don't need soundbites to win this election - but they will need to do some real work on their message before the next one.
James Westhead is a Washington correspondent for 大象传媒 News.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/guto_harri/2006/11/dying_to_vote.html">Dying to vote?
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/guto_harri/">Guto Harri
- 8 Nov 06, 09:51 AM
Polling stations are selected for their situation not for their suitability, so elections take some people into unfamiliar and possibly alien surroundings.
Schools, fire stations, church halls are the established favourites, and voting draws a different crowd into many of these establishments. The voting booths nearest my office were in the Metropolitan Community Church of New York. It prides itself on preaching an inclusive Gospel which is particularly attractive to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Not everyone casting their ballot would have qualified on that count but everyone was welcome yesterday.
Signs and instructions were displayed in Spanish, Chinese and Korean as well as English. Yet Catherine Green, greeting everyone at the door, was disappointed at the turnout. "This was busier than usual", she told me towards the end, but, "it was not as busy as we'd like it to be". Having got up at 5am to help facilitate the voting process, she was angry: "One of the things I object to is the number of Americans that don't vote. In Iraq people are proud of voting. In Australia you're fined if you don't vote. And it's a right that people are dying for today. It's a responsibility that people are shirking."
Guto Harri is the 大象传媒's North America business correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/the_reporters/2006/11/midterms_blog_of_blogs_5.html">Mid-terms blog of blogs
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/the_reporters/">The Reporters
- 8 Nov 06, 09:10 AM
Daily Kos declares "Victory Open Thread!" and sums up its jubilant mood with a photo of a wave captioned "Ride it... you've earned it". (%3Ca%20href="https://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/8/31627/0491">link)
Blogs for Bush argues that a Democratic House will not be a major obstacle for the president but it predicts an endless stream of Congressional investigations and "the attempted criminalisation of being a conservative". (%3Ca%20href="https://www.blogsforbush.com/mt/archives/008206.html">link)
Andrew Sullivan says the election is a clear message for President Bush to sack his defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld: "Fire him; and reach out to the Democrats and moderate Republicans in order to form a strategy for victory or stability in Iraq." (%3Ca%20href="https://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/11/fire_rumsfeld_n_1.html">link)
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/2006/11/scandal_hits_home.html">Scandal hits home
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/andy_gallacher/">Andy Gallacher
- 8 Nov 06, 08:36 AM
The shadow of the %3Ca%20href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5400536.stm">Mark Foley affair may have been what threw the mid-terms to the Democrats here in Florida's 16th district but it was a close race none the less. The Republicans had only five weeks to prep their replacement %3Ca%20href="%3Ca%20href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4212">Joe Negron and he fought a fierce battle.
His name wasn't even on the ballot papers; Mark Foley's name remained in place because of election rules, and there were fears that that could confuse voters.
But in the end Democrat Tim Mahoney took a seat that had been a safe Republican bet for years. Former Congressman Foley resigned at the end of September over inappropriate e-mails he sent to Congressional pages and the Democratic party saw this as a real opportunity. Campaigning on the war in Iraq and the Foley scandal they turned voters minds to national issues and while many of the people I talked to voted on local issues, the war and Mark Foley were very much in their minds.
Andy Gallacher is the 大象传媒's Miami correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/justin_webb/2006/11/a_platform_for_the_democrats.html">Platform for Democrats
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/justin_webb/">Justin Webb
- 8 Nov 06, 07:40 AM
The bleak fact for the White House is that the Democrats' taking control of the %3Ca%20href="https://www.house.gov/">House of Representatives gives them the chairmanship of every committee - the power to hold hearings, the power to instigate legislation - a platform in Washington.
What will they do with that platform - will they try, for instance, to impeach the president? Or will they stick to %3Ca%20href="https://www.house.gov/pelosi/biography/bio.html">Nancy Pelosi's stated goal of leadership? Probably the latter.
Many of the new intake are moderate Democrats, conservatives even, who are not looking for an ideological fight.
For fuller analysis from Justin, check back later.
Justin Webb is the 大象传媒's chief North America radio correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/justin_webb/2006/11/to_be_continued.html">To be continued...
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/justin_webb/">Justin Webb
- 8 Nov 06, 06:19 AM
The voters of South Dakota appear to have rejected a %3Ca%20href="https://www.vote-smart.org/election_ballot_measures_detail.php?ballot_id=M000001483">state law banning almost all abortions, even in case of rape or incest.
I wonder whether this might turn out to be a big blow to abortion-rights campaigners. My logic is this: If the South Dakota law had passed, it would have set up an uncomfortable situation for the president, who had quietly but firmly opposed the ban.
Had it passed, he would have been put in a position of opposing a law he regarded as too draconian, though it is quite obviously morally coherent - after all it is not the fault of the foetus if it was conceived through rape or incest.
In other words it would have put most of the nation - including most conservatives and their president - in the same camp, against the South Dakota law.
As it is, the old battles can continue.
Justin Webb is the 大象传媒's chief North America radio correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/the_reporters/2006/11/more_liveblogging_1.html">More live-blogging
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/the_reporters/">The Reporters
- 8 Nov 06, 06:07 AM
Our colleagues over at 大象传媒 Radio Five Live have been %3Ca%20href="https://blogs.bbc.co.uk/podsandblogs">live-blogging the election with David Adesnik (%3Ca%20href="https://oxblog.blogspot.com/">Oxblog) and Amanda Terkel (%3Ca%20href="https://thinkprogress.org/">Thinkprogress), including an exclusive take on the election by Mr Burns (no, not Montana Senator Conrad Burns - the one from %3Ca%20href="https://www.thesimpsons.com/index.html">The Simpsons).
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/jonathan_beale/2006/11/joy_in_pennsylvania_1.html">Joy in Pennsylvania
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/jonathan_beale/">Jonathan Beale
- 8 Nov 06, 03:17 AM
Lot of excitement at the campaign party for %3Ca%20href="https://www.rendellforgovernor.com/">Ed Rendell, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, who has apparently won re-election.
Predictions that the ultra-conservative senator %3Ca%20href="https://www.ricksantorum.com/uvc/">Rick Santorum would pull out a come-back victory have come to naught as his Democratic challenger, %3Ca%20href="https://www.bobcasey.com/splash/">Bob Casey, seems to have ridden his party's wave.
Democratic supporters here are effusive and optimistic, even though at this hour most of the returns for elections results are still coming in.
But they believe Bob Casey won because his relatively moderate stance on issues which mattered most to them - in contrast to Mr Santorum, whom they perceived as being too far to the right and too close to George W Bush.
Jonathan Beale is the 大象传媒's State Department correspondent.
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/katty_kay/2006/11/premature_celebration.html">Premature celebration?
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/katty_kay/">Katty Kay
- 8 Nov 06, 01:37 AM
This is starting to feel eerily familiar. I remember standing on a roof overlooking the White House on election night in 2004. My phone kept ringing from giddy Democrats: "We're ahead, even in Virginia, it's ours."
A few moments ago, I bumped into one of them in the reception of our Washington bureau. He flashed out his BlackBerry: "Look at this, we're ahead, even in Virginia, it's ours."
We should have all realised there was something odd about those polls in 2004 when the Democrats believed conservative Virginia had voted for John Kerry.
Should we be as sceptical tonight? It's been six dismal years for the Democrats. They are desperate to get back into power. Are they so desperate they'll break their own resolution and start celebrating prematurely?
Katty Kay is a presenter on %3Ca%20href="https://www.bbcworld.com">大象传媒 World
%3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/matt_frei/2006/11/organisation_v_revenge.html">Organisation v revenge
- %3Ca%20href="/blogs/thereporters/matt_frei/">Matt Frei
- 8 Nov 06, 12:19 AM
I went to Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district, near Philadelphia, where %3Ca%20href="https://www.murphy06.net/index.php">Pat Murphy - the 33-year-old former West Point professor and Iraq veteran - has been running a confident campaign against the Republican incumbent %3Ca%20href="https://www.fitzpatrickforcongress.com/">Mike Fitzpatrick.
"Murph", as his supporters call him, seems to be prevailing over "Fitz", as his supporters call him, in the passion stakes - but once again it looked to me as if the Democrats might founder on the rock of insufficient organisation.
At the Everett primary school in Bristol, Pennsylvania, there were two Republican vote-trackers with bar codes for each voter in hand, keeping an eye on who had actually turned up at the polls.
Those who decided to stay at home had their bar codes processed by a computer for a robo-call to get them off the couch or a knock on the door from a friendly volunteer.
The Democrats had no such trackers and relied, it seemed, mainly on the newfound enthusiasm of their voters. The ground war on Election Day is a battle between organisation and revenge. We will find out in the next few hours which comes out on top.
Matt Frei is the 大象传媒's senior North America TV correspondent.
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