Democrats Are In: Rumsfeld and Mehlman Are Out

Posted on November 9, 2006

Now that the Virginia Senate race has finally been called for Democrat Jim Webb, the Democrats officially control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. But President Bush reacted Wednesday morning by immediately firing Rumsfeld. Oh, wait, he was allowed to resign, to put it more diplomatically.

Bush has affected a conciliatory tone so far: he had lunch with presumptive Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi today. He even had his chef prepare a lunch she would like: pasta and chocolate for dessert. That is a major concession; we all know how Bush prefers to have beef at every meal. Pasta and chocolate aren't really his thing. But they are a great way to lull one's opponent into a stupor with all those calming carbs.

Not content with firing Rumsfeld, Bush then fired Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman. It wasn't a good week for Mehlman: Bill Maher outed Mehlman on CNN's Larry King, informing everyone that Mehlman is gay (he also said that Mehlman is just one of many closeted gay Republicans). It's not exactly a secret to Washington insiders, but CNN still censored the video. In any event, Mehlman wasn't fired because he was gay. He was fired because the Republicans got "thumped" good in the election, as President Bush put it. Tom DeLay (whose Texas congressional seat went to a Democrat) referred to the election as a "whuppin'". As it certainly was.

Can Nancy and George get along? He gets point for the chocolate, but chocolate can only take you so far with a determined woman.