Robert Dallek speaks to the political necessity:
[H]istory shows that such tough personnel decisions can, eventually, prove healthy for an administration and for a nation, particularly in times of war. They force reassessments of long-standing policy; they help presidents stand back, evaluate and chart new directions.
Now, with little more than two years remaining in the Bush administration, the president can still drop his longtime defense secretary in favor of another who could bring fresh ideas and renewed credibility to the battle against terrorism and the war in Iraq. It's not too late.
There are many of us who would like to support a new, far more serious commitment to winning in Iraq. But not with Rumsfeld as Defense Secretary. He has zero credibility. He must go after the election. Or we should leave Iraq. The status quo is intolerable - a sign of presidential weakness, not strength.
(Photo: Haraz Ghanbari/AFP/Getty.)