Stating that Donald Rumsfeld is the best thing to happen to the Pentagon in 25 years ... well, it's such a bizarre notion I don't even know where to begin to critique it. Something akin to saying that Curly Joe was the bestest of the Stooges, and if only the studio would have highlighted him more, love for American comedy would have swept the world in such a wave that the Soviet Union would have crumbled decades earlier. Yeah, the best thing "in 25 years" comment is about as unhinged from reality as that notion.
But apart from the stupidity of the comment, what's with the Republican House Majority Leader apparently taking a huge swipe at the Reagan administration's Pentagon, and the guy who led George H.W. Bush's Pentagon? Have those views suddenly become acceptable among staunch conservatives?
Posted by armand at October 29, 2006 12:16 PM | TrackBack | Posted to PoliticsA bizarre quote. Even among Rumsfeld defenders, there is clear ground to argue that he is not doing well on some aspects of the job (Iraq).
When the dust clears on this in a decade or so, I think we might be surprised at how well Rumsfeld has done on his "Transformation" initiatives. He may have really made the Pentagon bend to his ways, which has made the US military somewhat more flexible at fighting conventional wars. His scorecard on our ability to fight unconventional wars is more mixed.
Of course, his performance in Iraq is the worst by a SecDef in I don't know how long. Boehner is clearly just spouting the party line in order to hold back the sagging fortunes of the Republican Party.
Posted by: baltar at October 29, 2006 02:25 PM | PERMALINK