The AP’s Robert Burns had an interesting observation yesterday: No one’s seen Rumsfeld in a while.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, for years the most public face of the Bush administration’s war on terrorism, has suddenly become scarce.
Burdened by the Iraq prisoner abuse scandal and constrained by the presidential election campaign, the Pentagon chief who spearheaded the Afghanistan and Iraq wars has been relegated to a less visible role.
Once seemingly in danger of being fired over the prisoner abuse, Rumsfeld appears to have survived. Yet some wonder whether the White House might still conclude he is a political liability and prefer he leave this summer.
“Donald Rumsfeld has gone from being the most popular spokesperson for the Bush administration policies to something of a pariah,” said Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a think tank.
“Whereas before the White House was happy to see him speaking in public whenever he chose, now it kind of cringes for fear of what the results might be,” Thompson added.
I can’t say I’m surprised or disappointed by Rumsfeld’s disappearance. Indeed, by keeping him from public view, the White House is effectively admitting that Rumsfeld is not only a polarizing figure in an election season, but is literally embarrassing to the administration.
Remember all of those combative press briefings in which Rumsfeld would chide reporters and frustrate viewers with his unapologetic (and terribly misplaced) arrogance? They’re a thing of the past. Checking the Pentagon’s site shows that Rumsfeld hasn’t held any media briefings this month and has only done one interview with a U.S. news outlet, and even that one was with American Forces Press Service.
Burns seems to have identified the problem.
Various U.S. public opinion polls show the defense secretary’s popularity on the decline.
He was viewed favorably by two-thirds two years ago and almost as many at the start of the war in March 2003. By last September his favorable rating was just above 50 percent, and the most recent poll, in February, had it slipping about 10 points further.
I guess Rummy didn’t get a boost from Bush’s bizarre assessment that he’s doing a “superb” job.