From the Department of Obviousity comes news that Donald Rumsfeld’s presumptive heir will make Iraq his top priority.
Robert Gates, President Bush’s pick for defense secretary, emerged from meetings on Capitol Hill Friday to say Iraq would be a top priority for him if confirmed by the Senate … “One of the highest priorities, if not the highest priority, will be looking at the situation in Iraq,” Gates told reporters following a meeting with Sen. John Warner, R-Va.
Refreshing candor from the new broom. The AP story quotes incoming majority leader Harry Reid, who said “the sooner we can move [the nomination] forward the sooner we can get rid of Rumsfeld.” The Reid quote follows this observation from writer Anne Flaherty: “Democrats did not immediately oppose Gates.” That’s one way to characterize Reid’s sentiment; another might be something like “The Senate’s top Democrat immediately supported Gates.” Reporters move in mysterious ways, or don’t move: no one appears to have asked Gates what exactly making Iraq a top priority means.
Although a new broom indeed sweeps clean, you must first pick up the broom and then make the effort to sweep. And speaking of “obviousity,” the Iraq policy will really change with a real change in leadership in 2008. If you don’t believe me, just ask the ghost of Richard Nixon and he will confirm that“obviousity.”
Oh, I agree: his primary job is to calm the generals down and maintain opacity. I’m not among those hardy souls clinging to the Baker lifeboat or nurturing the hope that when Bush said the election showed Americans don’t understand the importance of taxes and security, he really meant “Lord, I screwed up and I’m going to do everything in my power to fix it.” I was just bemused by the process in which Gates felt compelled to say that and reporters felt compelled to write it down without asking the obvious followup question.