He Wanted Out

To paraphrase Michael Corleone, "Everytime I wanted out, Bush kept me back in."

WASHINGTON (Reuters)-Donald Rumsfeld, architect of the unpopular Iraq war, resigned as defense secretary before last year's November election but his decision was not announced until after the voting, according to his resignation letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

The letter was dated November 6, the day before voters, angered by Iraq, went to the polls and swept President George W. Bush's Republicans from power in Congress. According to a stamp on the letter, Bush saw it on election day.

The president, however, did not announce that Rumsfeld would leave until the day after the election.

That infuriated some republicans, who said their party might have kept more seats in Congress and perhaps kept control of the Senate if Rumsfeld had left before the election.

Another short-sighted move on Bush's part. If Rumsefeld had quit (or been canned) in the Summer, the GOP might have kept its majority and they might not be facing the downward spiral they are now. As it is, Bush chose to live in denial and the GOP paid the price as a result.