President Ford Defends Rumsfeld

I believe that the opinion of a former U.S. president trumps that of a number of retired generals.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) -- Former President Ford said Friday he is troubled by the efforts of retired generals to force the ouster of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Ford, who appointed Rumsfeld as his White House chief of staff and then chose him to be defense secretary during his administration, said in a statement that President Bush was right to keep Rumsfeld in his post.

..."Allowing retired generals to dictate our country's policies and its leadership would be a dangerous precedent that would severely undermine our country's long tradition of civilian control of the military," Ford said.

"It would discourage civilian leaders at the (Defense) Department from having frank and candid exchanges with military officers. And, today, at a time of war, such an effort sends exactly the wrong message both to our troops deployed abroad and to our enemies who are watching for any signs of weakness or self-doubt."

..."He knew that Don, who had been in the job before, was extremely well-suited to take on this challenge and contend with a bureaucracy that has a built-in resistance to change. The president knew that successfully carrying out these missions, against stiff resistance, takes someone with a certain amount of steel," Ford said.

I think we can expect three possible reactions from the lib media and lib pundits in response to President Ford's comments.

1. They will completely ignore President Ford's statement.

2. They will acknowledge the statement, but dismiss it as partisan and irrelevant.

3. They will claim that Karl Rove coerced or tricked 92-year-old President Ford into making the statement.