Are there any political insiders here...

Can you tell me this...

How badly will it effect Bush's re-election champaign if Rumsfeld is forced to resign now.

Or will the administration placing the blame on Rumsfeld and firing him seemingly clear Bush of all wrong doing

(which, by the way, is not a racist reference)

my guess is that Rumsfeld is toast, but Bush's neck will stiffen. He will not fire him. All that loyalty bullshit, you know.

after the election....if Bush secures a secondterm (i hat to use the terms 'elected' or re-elected) a 'decent interval' will pass and then Rumsfeld will leave.


god, what a sick country.

now we see why Bush refused to go along with world court prosecution of American soldiers........remember that? I wonder what Bush knew when he made that decisions...

of reading as a kid. Fables. I do hope it stick on to all these big guys.

Rumsfeld's just become the fall-guy. It was all Rummy's fault - not Bush's. Or at least that's how the media's going to spin it.

people who intend to vote for Shrubco* don't think torture is wrong. McCain on the other hand abhors torture and can't condone it in any way, shape, or form! Thus sets up a classic dilemma a real republican (McCain) vs shrubco. Stand back and watch the fur fly!

Rumsfield could be fired, or more likely, forced to resign, or he could stay, and it wouldn't affect Bush too much, by itself. It will help to create an impression with voters of Bush's integrity and ability. Much of that is appearance related, and will just depend on how well Bush spins it. He could look stupid, corrupt, or heroic, depending.

IF somehow it was shown that Bush or Cheney themselves knew back in January or before, or that he or Cheney gave specific orders to humiliate the prisoners (and both are possible, since both are probably true), then Bush is done, after all he's said about it.

Most likely, though, this will just help to create an impression of Bush's job as president, and that impression is what people will vote on. Barring further developments, this scandal is over, except for Rumsfield's future, which is up in the air, a little.

For the record, I'm not much of an insider, I just observe. A lot.