Bush Not Bothered by Criticism of Rumsfeld

President made another strong defense of Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld today, and in the process may have coined a new term for the president:

“I listen to all voices, but mine is the final decision,” he said. “And Don Rumsfeld is doing a fine job. He’s not only transforming the military, he’s fighting a war on terror. He’s helping us fight a war on terror. I have strong confidence in Don Rumsfeld.

“I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.”

Decider-in-Chief? Could be catchy.

Some are speculating that this whole cranky old general act could be part of a group which is intent on drafting Colin Powell to run for president in '08. John Fund has this piece in Political Diary:

Last week's apparently coordinated attack on Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld by a group of retired generals prompted not only a response from generals who support Mr. Rumsfeld in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, but some serious speculation about what might lie behind the "revolt of the generals."

The American Spectator reports that several of the anti-Rumsfeld generals "are involved in a very quiet group of retired military officers who are behind a 'Draft Colin Powell' effort" that seeks to get the retired chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs to seek the presidency in 2008. The Spectator says the operation is well funded "to the point that they are regularly polling the public on issues and even ticket makeup for a Powell run."

The Spectator quotes a source who has seen some of the polling, and comments: "They more often than not have him [Powell] running as a Republican, so the polling is almost exclusively with other Republicans on the ticket, and almost always with Powell on the top of the ticket."

Of course, any such barracks-room intrigue ignores one salient fact: There is no evidence Gen. Powell wants to run for president and little likelihood that the GOP would draft him over the current crop of potential 2008 candidates. After all, even World War II hero Dwight Eisenhower had to fight through primary battles with Robert Taft in order to secure a very narrow first-ballot win at the 1952 GOP convention.

I personally don't think Powell would be attractive to the conservative base at all. He was not a terribly effective Secretary of State (Condi Rice has run rings around him), and seemed to offer only half-hearted support for Bush's efforts in the war on terror. I doubt that he will seriously consider a run for the nomination.