Who is this Gates guy?

Rummy is now out, put in his resignation, only hours after the Dems won on Tuesday night.
So, what I wanna know is if this Robert Gates is WORSE???

It makes me very suspect. Bush only has 2 more years in the White House. He needs to get as much accomplished as possible. And as we have seen from the last 6 years, can destroy….ahem…“accomplish” quite a lot.



Bush announces Rumsfeld stepping down
Posted by: "Jim Senyszyn" jnsenyszyn@insightbb.com jnsenyszyn
Wed Nov 8, 2006 12:08 pm (PST)


Bush announces Rumsfeld stepping down

President taps ex-CIA chief Gates to replace embattled defense secretary

BREAKING NEWS

NBC, MSNBC and news services

Updated: 26 minutes ago

http://tinyurl.com/yyt7ax

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down as defense
secretary on Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition
to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses.

President Bush said he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director,
to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has
claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, "Well, there's
certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon."

Bush lavished praise on Rumsfeld, who has spent six stormy years at his
post. The president disclosed he met with Gates last Sunday, two days before
the elections in which Democrats swept control of the House and possibly the
Senate.

Military officials and politicians dissatisfied with the course of the war
had called for Rumsfeld's resignation in the months leading up to the
election. Last week, as Bush campaigned to save the Republican majority, he
declared that Rumsfeld would remain at the Pentagon through the end of his
term.

Source: Cheney stuck by Rumsfeld

But sources told NBC News' military analyst Bill Arkin that prior to the
election, Vice President Dick Cheney argued with other politicians over
whether Rumsfeld should stay. White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and
others said Rumsfeld should be removed, the source said. Both sides agreed
the decision would be made after the election, when Bush would make the
final call based on how Republicans did.

According to the source, Bush agreed Rumsfeld should be removed after seeing
election results favoring Democrats. Cheney then lost another argument,
protesting Gates' nomination as Rumsfeld's replacement.

Rumsfeld, 74, was in his second tour of duty as defense chief. He first held
the job a generation ago, when he was appointed by President Ford.

Whatever confidence Bush retained in Rumsfeld, the Cabinet officer's support
in Congress had eroded significantly. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House
speaker-in-waiting, said at her first postelection news conference that Bush
should replace the top civilian leadership at the Pentagon.

And Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who had intervened in the past to
shore up support for Rumsfeld, issued a statement saying, "Washington must
now work together in a bipartisan way - Republicans and Democrats - to
outline the path to success in Iraq."

The Pentagon offered no date for Rumsfeld's departure.

Appointee a close Bush family friend

Gates, 63, has served as the president of Texas A&M University since August
2002, and as the university's interim dean of the George Bush School of
Government and Public Service from 1999 to 2001.

The school is home to the presidential library of Bush's father. Gates is a
close friend of the Bush family, and particularly the first President Bush.

He served as deputy national security adviser from 1989 to 1991 and then as
CIA director during the first Iraq war, from 1991 until 1993.

Gates joined the CIA in 1966 and is the only agency employee to rise from an
entry level job to the 7th floor director's office. He served in the
intelligence community for more than a quarter century, under six
presidents.

Bush has considered Gates for jobs before, including in 2005 when he was
searching for a candidate to be the nation's first national intelligence
director.

His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., who is expected to chair the House Armed Services
Committee next year, said Rumsfeld's resignation "presents an important
opportunity for our country to begin a new policy direction in Iraq and in
the war on terrorism."

He encouraged the Bush administration to take advantage of the fresh start.

NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.