Lott Joins Republican Critics of Rumsfeld

Lott Joins Republican Critics of Rumsfeld (washingtonpost.com):

Trent Lott (no raving liberal, to be sure) has added his voice to the growing chorus of Republican discontent with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Chuck Hagel, John McCain, Susan Collins, Norman Schwarzkopf, and Bill Kristol (when your PNAC buddies oppose you, do you stand a chance?) have all either stated they have "no confidence" in Rumsfeld, expressed anger at his "arrogance," or called for his ouster.

But Bush remains at least publicly supportive of his Defense chief. “Secretary Rumsfeld continues to do a great job while we’re at war,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. “We must continue to use all means on all fronts to defeat the terrorists, and Secretary Rumsfeld is an important person in our efforts to prevail in this global struggle of ideologies.”

"Bush has been under steady pressure, mostly from Democrats, to oust Rumsfeld since reports of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in May. Those calls have escalated as more Republicans have come to the opinion that Rumsfeld has not called for enough troops to win the war. A senior GOP adviser on Capitol Hill, who demanded anonymity, said party leaders remain supportive of Rumsfeld but some are concerned that the recent round of complaints will embolden those who share similar frustrations privately to express them publicly in the weeks ahead."