Bush Wants Rumsfeld, Cheney To Stay

President Gives Support To Two Most Criticized Members Of His Cabinet

(CBS/AP)  President Bush said Wednesday he wants Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain in his administration until the end of his presidency, extending a job guarantee to two of the most criticized members of his team.

Mr. Bush, in an interview, also said he was determined that sanctions imposed against North Korea must be applied even though Pyongyang has agreed to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. The president said he did not foresee a change in the immediate future in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. "They've got what they can live with," he said.

The president spoke in the Oval Office, seated in a wing chair in front of a table with a bowl of roses. Six days before midterm elections, Mr. Bush steered questions away from politics beyond saying he was confident that Republicans would defy the odds and hold control of the House and Senate. He refused to even say whether he could work effectively with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi or Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid if Democrats won either the House or Senate, or both.

Mr. Bush took the opportunity to take another poke at Sen. John Kerry, who's in political hot water for a remark that has been criticized as a slam on U.S. troops in Iraq. Kerry has apologized and said it was a botched joke.

"It didn't sound like a joke to me," the president said. "More important, it didn't sound like a joke to the troops."

"There's no question that the Democrats have been trying to make this whole election about George Bush and about Iraq," says CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer. "So many of these Democrats are trying to link their opponents to the president."

Democrats and Republicans alike have called for Rumsfeld's resignation, arguing he has mishandled the war in Iraq, where more than 2,800 members of the U.S. military have died since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Cheney has faced sharp criticism for his hardline views and is viewed favorably by only about a third of Americans in polls. Bush said that "both men are doing fantastic jobs."

He said he valued Cheney's advice and judgment. "The good thing about Vice President Cheney's advice is, you don't read about it in the newspaper after he gives it," the president said.

Mr. Bush credited Rumsfeld with overseeing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while overhauling the military. "I'm pleased with the progress we're making," the president said. He replied in the affirmative if he wanted Rumsfeld and Cheney to stay with him until the end.

Mr. Bush opened the interview by saying he was pleased that North Korea was returning to stalled nuclear talks. Although North Korea has a history of breaking promises and walking away from negotiations, Bush did not express doubts about the intentions of Kim Jong Il, North Korea's leader.

"It's his choice," the president said. "I would hope he is sincere." He said that any deal with North Korea would have to be verifiable.

The president said he did not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, even though it tested an atomic bomb three weeks ago. "Our objective is to see they're not a nuclear weapons state," the president said.

Mr. Bush said Robert Joseph, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, and Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs, will travel through the region to talk with allies about how to make progress.

"We're going to talk about making sure that the sanctions passed by the United Nations are effective," the president said. Implementation of the sanctions will be on the table."

The president also expressed confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki despite apparent strains between Washington and Baghdad.

"I appreciate he's making hard decisions that he thinks are necessary to keep his country united and moving forward," the president said. "I didn't find any difference of opinion when I talked to him. We both want Iraq to be able to govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself. We both want there to be benchmarks — Iraqi developed and designed benchmarks — that show the Iraqi people and the American people that this young democracy is making progress."

Mr. Bush said that "there's no question that October was a tough month. We lost 103 soldiers. It was a tough month because we were on the offense, the enemy was on the offense — the enemy was trying to affect us. And it was a tough month because of Ramadan. ... Our troops and Iraqi troops killed or captured over 1,500 people during this period of time."

[one_american]

In your face, Dem-wits!

[uffda43]

Good idea, they should keep those three learning disabled jerks together.

Bush and his cabinet should apologize to our troops and the country for lying and posting that banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished."

[uffda43]

Good idea, they should keep those three learning disabled jerks together.

Bush and his cabinet should apologize to our troops and the country for lying and posting that banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished."

[clestes-2009]

Well, what can you expect from from gw? The situation in Iraq has descended into a hell where al-Maliki is ordering US troops to release captured al-Sadr fighters and Dubya can only say what a great job Rumsfeld is doing.

Bush is moving further and further into twilight land and the really sorry part is that US soldiers are paying the price for his incompetence and the incompetence of all his staff.

[one_american]

...and yet again, the same quote from Bob Schieffer, the CBS communist.

[delta5243]

doing there jobs...yes....doing a "fantastic" job....no

[rharrin1]

STAY THE COURSE

[shingles1]

If I was one of Bush's advisors I'd be annoyed right now that he just brought Iraq BACK into the conversation.

[bond_4_life]

Not impressive but very consistent.

If this happened with Republicans and other horrors happened with Democrats---that pretty much declares the whole system is a bad one.

It does not take care of babies ie, foster children, it does not take care of the elderly, it does not take care of the disordered...

who does this system care for?

The only thing I can see that this system takes seriously is money, bringing in the money--not accounting for it---just bringing it in.

I WILL NEVER VOTE AGAIN. I am going to get myself extracated from this "system" which claims all infants born here---like tagging toes at the morgue.

[peterbaldwin-2009]

Bush is giving the bird to the American people, essentially saying, "bring em on". Too bad they are all alone inside the Bush bubble. The wagons are circled. Bush is cocky now because he has the Dems on the run and jumping through hoops with the Kerry non-story, but Americans are voting to throw out the Republicans and they will vote for the Dems anywayon Tuesday.

I am voting a straight Democrat ticket, even though I abhor most of these spineless weaklings who can't even defent Senator Kerry, nor speak up about Maliki and al-Sadr kicking the *** out of Bush for the world to see.

[squiz2]

All I can hear is the Three Stooges theme running through my head....
What a disillusioned idiot. How can he look at what he's done, at the polls, at the face of America, and say he's happy with how things are going? How can he say Rumsfeld and Cheney are doing fantastic jobs? It's sad that he has so much pride that he can't just admit he f*ed up and say he's sorry....like a lying 8 year old boy.

[luvny-2009]

I can't WAIT for the elections, that's the only way we can stop those 3 morons from destroying our country any further than they already have. Those 3 plus some of his other buddies should be behind bars. It's beside me how in this day and age how they can get away with all they have done to this country. Bush has divided this counrty more than I have ever seen. It's almost scarey how some follow him like a cult leader.

[hcannon2]

What idiot wrote this piece? What do you mean "extends job guarantees"? Cheney was ELECTED at the same time as Bush and he (Bush) couldn't fire him if he wanted to!

[huskerarmy]

"In your face, Dem-wits!"

I'm going to have to give it to One American on this one. Surely we're whipped now! The American voters will most certainly take this "stay the course" announcement as a positive. Certainly everyone is pleased as punch with the way the war is proceeding. Boy, Dems have no chance of getting elected now. You GOPers are just too smart for us. I sure hope you don't keep doing this kind of thing until the election.

[huskerarmy]

"Cheney was ELECTED at the same time as Bush and he (Bush) couldn't fire him if he wanted to!"

The way it works in the real world... If Bush asks Cheney to resign, he resigns. It's not technically being fired but, we all know what it means...

[amazedd]

Cheney for president!

[energyecon]

VOTE - screw the whining defeatism of the cry babies who say they aren't going to vote - whichever side you are on in this election it is your civic duty and should be viewed as a sacred honor to cast your ballt - nothing less!

[radiob-2009]

The only possible reason I can see for Bush to make this kind of announcement is that the internal polls are not forebading well for the republicans.The public ones are not and maybe he is trying to state that with a democratic controlled house and senate he will fend off inquirys into both of them that would result in their resignation or impeachment.Not a smart move if this is his theory becase if it is it will result in his own resignation or impeachment.I do not like Bush but it is better if this theory is correct to let the punches land on Rumsfield and Cheney then for him to be impeached.Cheney by law can only resign or be impeached as he was elected with Bush.Rumsfield can be fired or forced to resign.I do not know of any defense secratary that has been impeached.If the democrats do take control of the congress then they can in effect cause Rumsfield resignation through an inquiry.To the person who will not vote and is going to leave the system good luck,there are all sorts of taxes required to exist in the US. A smarter course would be to build alliances with like minded people and vote for the things you wish to be taken care.There are multiple federal laws that allow individuals to express all kinds of greivances and even a do it yorself impeachment for the president or any member of congress.

[tejasdemo]

STAY THE COURSE BABY ! YEEEEEHAAAAAWWWWW

[huskerarmy]

Where did all the GOPers go? I didn't even see the short bus pull away.

[chadb19]

I am ashamed of this administration and they are a disgrace to our forefathers. Why doesn%u2019t this country stand up and do something? We are becoming a complacent nation that allows incompetence...What happen to the great nation of the United States?? I have never seen it in such disarray in my lifetime. God help us!!

[xfredmenzies]

Goodbye, Rumsfeld. You did one heck of a job.

[observantx]

Okay. Let us look at THIS closely.

Fearless Leader is so pleased with the slaughter in Iraq he%u2019s keeping the architect of that bloody circus, Rummy, on as Secretary of Disaster, excuse me, Defense.

He is pleased despite a report in the New York Times, that documented an Oct. 18 briefing where a slide of a color-coded bar chart illustrating an %u201CIndex of Civil Conflict.%u201D showed a sharp escalation in sectarian violence since the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra in February, and a further worsening this month despite a concerted American push to tamp down the violence in Baghdad.

%u201CThe slide shows Iraq as moving sharply away from %u201Cpeace,%u201D an ideal on the far left side of the chart, to a point much closer to the right side of the spectrum, a red zone marked %u201Cchaos.%u201D As depicted in the command%u2019s chart, the needle has been moving steadily toward the far right of the chart.%u201D

So, Fearless Leader sees the chart with the needle nearly three quarters of the way to total chaos and he. is. pleased.

Either a color coded chart with all the events leading to this assessment drawn on it is too complicated for him or he has been plainly lying. through. his. teeth.

VOTE to take power away from this criminal bunch of lairs!

[jpesot]

The three amigos ride on it seems.

History will not be kind to these 3 fools. There will be no statues to their greatness. No airports will be named after them (and certainly no aircraft carriers!). Their faces will never appear on any (real) currency. And certainly no schools will be named in their honor.

Instead, after making huge blunder, pleople will say "I really Bushed that one!".

Upon hearing a comment of questionable truthiness one will say "Don't Cheney me!!"

And when one knows that their boss pays no attention to what they say, you will here "Yea, I pitched my idea, but then he Rumsfelded me into submission."

These clowns will be remembered for living through Vietnam (in part by hiding from it) and for then repeating it's worst mistakes -- using the sons and daughters of others in the process.

This disaster will be studied by militray and political leaders again and again ... and ultimately people will pray that America's future conflicts won't become "Another Iraq".

We can only hope that future leaders learn the lesson that the 3 amigos seem to have missed.

[b4815]

They didn't want to hang out in a left wing cesspool.

[lfitts1]

jpesot--I don't think I have ever heard it put better--I'll second that--and if you run--I'll vote for you

[lfitts1]

b4815--What are you talking about???Who are 'they' and where is the cesspool?? and who are the left wingers that you are paranoid about. There is a cesspool--that is Iraq, but that was created by our fearless leader---one of the 3 Amigo stooges

[nerya_100]

chadb19

The answer to your question really started in 1969 when california Began the no Fault divorce. This began the instant break down of several families and was adopted by many other liberal and democratic states.The remedial break down of a family without just cause leaves children being brought up with a twist in standards with the ultimate I dont' give a attitude.Also, with this wonderful movement, came more social programs like the welfare program.For many years children (WHOM ARE ADULTS NOW) learned that they don't have to work or be responsible to live.All you have to do is fill out the form right.Then they get money, health insurance, food, and a home to live so why work? The only thing they have to work at is making more and more babies.high %'s of these parents are party going drug and alcohol addicts. There children are brought up in a lowly life style with little or no instruction surrounded by alcohol & drugs. Their parents (if they know who there father is) are for a large part in and out of jail. They are placed as wards of the court and then placed with relative or group home.

[nerya_100]

Cont.
The children are rarely monitored and still they receive little to no instruction on how to live, laugh or love.And all to often they as young children 15-18 end up repeating the cycle.With all this they have no time to care about what happens in this Country.They Don't care they just want to know that they will get a check throughout the month so they can continue the cycle.There are many, many answers to add to this 1st one however, I need to get to work now.

[olebd]

The only way we are going to be able to repair the damage and get right with the rest of the world now is bringing all these guys into a trial, find them guilty and put them away. The sooner the better.

[pakaal]

"[President Bush] refused to even say whether he could work effectively with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi or Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid if Democrats won either the House or Senate, or both."

Another great moment from the Great Uniter. I guess "uniter" really meant "as long as you agree with absolutely everything I say and do". At least this makes it clear that for all his rhetoric about being for all the American people, it really is about his party alone, to H*ll with the rest of us.

[pakaal]

Correction, I shouldn't have said "his party alone" I meant his own small Neocon subgroup in the Republican party. To be fair, there are a lot of decent Republicans as disgusted with the way things have gone under this administration.

[louin0]

So Bush said Cheney and Rumsfeld were doing a great job. I think the President needs eyeglasses and hearing aids.

[louin0]

So Bush said Cheney and Rumsfeld were doing a great job. I think the President needs eyeglasses and hearing aids.

[louin0]

So Bush said Cheney and Rumsfeld were doing a great job. I think the President needs eyeglasses and hearing aids.

[jhindson1]

Remember if you vote Republican, you are voting for two more years of war lead by a total failure in policy and leadership (Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld) and this ongoing war will lead to many more unecessary deaths.

The war in Iraq is now a total Civil War with the various factions fighting for power.

The October 18 memo says it all. Meanwhile Bush Stays the Course - in total denial.

Staying the course with failed policies - Iraq, the huge national debt and a stalling economy.

Meanwhile Runsfeld has started up his propaganda department to feed baloney to the media - next they will try to control the media.

[wayfedup]

I have read so much about Iraq, Iran, 9-11,etc.,
However, we don't seem to remember that during these times of National Security concerns, OUR "LEADER", George W. Bush was COMPLETELY PREPARED TO HAND OVER CONTROL OF OUR PORTS TO THE SAUDIS! You know, where 9 of the 11 hijackers who flew jets into the WORLD TRADE CENTER on Sept.11, 2001 came from!!!!!

[frankly6]

Why change when you've got a winning team like this?

[verrz]

Hmm, so Bush says Rumsfeld has done a "fantastic" job? I'm no linguist, but in this case it's not hard to see where the word fantastic derives from, fantasy. And now Rummy's fantasy has become Iraq's nightmare. Well done.
As for Bush's unrelenting rigidity towards North Korea, even in the face of its recent display of flexibility, one can only hope and pray for a peaceful outcome.
Bush's well earned place in history will not be to his liking: the most inept president in modern times, maybe even all time.

[pudd54]

The impression I get of Mr. Rumsfeld is that he considers everyone for him or against him and if you%u2019re against him, you%u2019re against America. That goes for foreign countries too. Acting like a typical person with short man syndrome, if you%u2019re against him, he will kick your behind. That goes for foreign countries too. Problem is he thinks he could actually take on all his opponents and win, just as he thinks the US could take on the world and win. As great as we are, I don%u2019t think we would win battling the world.

I think he would be an excellent undersecretary, because he fights so hard for what the troops need. I believe his ideas are too radical for a true leadership position, his ideas need to be tempered. I can only imagine if he won the presidency in 2008, I think Hitler would have some competition in the history books.

[j-whitman]

Bush wants these idiots to stay???,, One more reason to fire Bush immediatly.

[pudd54]

Look at the bright side, with everyone talking about the war, you forget about the gas prices and those who make their money in the energy industry. And don't forget the bird flu and the millions of doses of Tamiflu the US bought. While Roche (a Swiss company) is the manufacturer, do you know who is a major stockholder in the American company that hold the patent is?
I think, to an extent, corruption has always been there, but these guys are blatant.

[arthurcl1]

Emperor Bush at it again asking these fellows to stay? Rumsfeld doing an excellent job? Spending billions on a failed policy in Irag. Recently millions of dollars of our taxpayer money for weapons for their armed forces was ripped off from under their noses? No reconstruction going on for the people, civil war, and the Cleric is back to controlling Sadar city? What a mess Bush has us in. It's another Vietnam. We will never be able to get out of there thanks to these guys!

[rharrin1]

This is really good news for democrats
STAY THE COURSE

[nynative1340]

I hope the last six years are as close to a dictatorship that this country ever gets. We taxpayers can't afford another six years of secretive and deceiptful repulsive Republican leadership. It's been a terrible lesson in how corruption breeds in the absolute power of a one-party system.

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
H.L. Mencken...

That "great and glorious day" was reached in January 2001, and we got not one, but three morons.

I guess you could say we got our money's worth!!!

THANK YOU plain and ill-informed folks of the land. The last six years have been a disaster, but then the three morons have given us some amusing moments, like when Bush was speechless for seven long minutes after being notified of the second plane flying into the WTC. Well, not exactly speechless: He did continue reading to the children while New York was burning.

Or when Bush conveniently disappeared after both the 9/11 and Katrina disasters. Let's talk about leadership...

Could it have been any worse had that other guy been elected? What WAS his name?

[marcelde]

DON'T CONFUSE BUSH WITH FACTS. "THE DECIDER'S" MIND IS MADE UP!

"Actions Speak Louder Than Words"


George Bush's triumphal announcement of "Mission Accomplished" could be viewed as correct if we agree that the mission was to kill thousands of our troops, uncounted civilians, destroy the infrastructure of Iraq, erode any residual respect of the rest of the world for us, and set the stage for a bloody civil war in Iraq.

In accomplishing that "mission" we have already lost over 2,800 U.S. military, diverted critical funds from the War on Terror,and,

AND RUMSFELD: %u201CSTILL HAS NOT LEARNED HISTORY%u2019S LESSONS%u201D

LABELS such as "Defeatist"

or

PLATITUDES like "Cut and Run" are transparent propaganda.

THE HISTORY LESSON RUMSFELD SHOULD BE LEARNING is the tragic lesson of Vietnam. Those who suggest we "still have not learned history's lessons" ignore 58,249 soldiers that needlessly died there. That war left Vietnam a Communist country, but our trading partner. We who objected to that war want to Support Our Troops by bringing them out of harm's way. We need to actively resist mindless leaders who suggest that Weapons of Mass Destruction, never found in Iraq, are the cause of 911, and that every culture is eager to embrace our form of democracy. Our soldiers who are dying in Iraq are another "Inconvenient Truth" just as those in 1970 whose names are engraved on the Vietnam War Memorial..

[marcelde]

"Actions Speak Louder Than Words"

"Mission Accomplished!"

George Bush's triumphal announcement of "Mission Accomplished" could be viewed as correct if we agree that the mission was to kill thousands of our troops, uncounted civilians, destroy the infrastructure of Iraq, erode any residual respect of the rest of the world for us, and set the stage for a bloody civil war in Iraq.

In accomplishing that "mission" we have already lost over 2,800 U.S. military, diverted critical funds from the War on Terror,and,

TO QUOTE RUMSFELD: %u201CSTILL HAVE NOT LEARNED HISTORY%u2019S LESSONS%u201D

LABELS such as "Defeatist"

or

PLATITUDES like "Cut and Run" are transparent propaganda offered because this administration lacks a workable solution to their self made problem.

THE HISTORY LESSON RUMSFELD SHOULD BE LEARNING is the tragic lesson of Vietnam. Those who suggest we "still have not learned history's lessons" ignore 58,249 soldiers that needlessly died there. That war left Vietnam a Communist country, but our trading partner. We who objected to that war want to Support Our Troops by bringing them out of harm's way. We need to actively resist mindless leaders who suggest that Weapons of Mass Destruction, never found in Iraq, are the cause of 911, and that every culture is eager to embrace our form of democracy. Our soldiers who are dying in Iraq are another "Inconvenient Truth" just as those in 1970 whose names are engraved on the Vietnam War Memorial..

[marcelde]

STAY THE (sic) CURSE. STAY THE CURSE!

S
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[bluestardad]

MAYBE THEY CAN ALL SHARE A CELL?

[marcelde]

Secretary of Defenseless Republicans, Donald Rumsfeld, right wing, and Vice President *** Cheney, look lost as President Bush addresses the media before the start of a meeting at the Pentagon on Monday.