Bush Shows He Heard the Nation's Message
President George Bush (left) escorts Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from the Oval Office after announcing his replacement, former CIA director Robert Gates, Nov. 8, 2006.
President George Bush (left) escorts Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from the Oval Office after announcing his replacement, former CIA director Robert Gates, Nov. 8, 2006.
President Bush responded to his party's defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections by moving quickly to show he had received a signal.
Mr. Bush announced Wednesday that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will step down. It's a decision that the president denied even considering as recently as last week. But Wednesday, he said a new perspective is needed at the Pentagon.
Rumsfeld has long been long a symbol of disaffection with the Bush administration. Democrats, and some Republicans, who called for Rumsfeld to be fired throughout the campaign, applauded the move.
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