Known and Unknown - Donald Rumsfeld [380]
In early October 2006, Vice President Cheney mused after a meeting in the Oval Office, “The good news is that there are only 794 days left until the end of the term.”
“Dick, there are 794 days left for you,” I said. “Not for me.”7
President Bush then said something that confused the tea-leaf readers, not to mention Joyce and me. Asked on November 1 if he still had confidence in me as secretary of defense, and if he wanted me to stay on, the President announced that he wanted me to stay in his administration “until the end.”8 This ran against everything I had discussed with Joyce and suggested to Cheney, who I assumed might have passed on my less than subtle comments that I was likely to leave if the Democrats were victorious on Election Day.
In the days before the November election, it looked as though Republicans would lose the House. Americans had soured on congressional Republican scandals and profligate spending. Republicans would be lucky if they held the Senate.
Joyce and I were having dinner with some friends one evening shortly before the election when I received a phone call from the Vice President. “Don,” Cheney said matter-of-factly, “the President has decided to make a change. He wants to see you Tuesday.” He did not elaborate on the President’s decision.
“Fair enough,” I said to Cheney. “I’ll prepare a letter of resignation. It makes sense.”
“We’re going to lose the House of Representatives, and the next two years are going to be rough,” Cheney said.
“I agree. It’s not helpful for the military if I stay. Fresh eyes are a good thing,” I responded.9
Thirty-one years earlier, Dick Cheney had been the one who called me to urge that I accept President Gerald Ford’s request to become secretary of defense. In August 1976, he had called me on behalf of President Ford to let me know I would not be Ford’s vice presidential nominee. And in December 2000, Cheney called me in Taos to say President-elect Bush wanted me to become his defense secretary. Now Dick was on the phone one more time, confirming what Joyce and I had already concluded. Two and a half years earlier I had given President Bush a signed note saying he had my resignation whenever it might be helpful to him. That time now had come.
Several days later, as millions of Americans went to the polls on November 7, I sat in the Oval Office alone with the President. Bush was visibly uncomfortable. I tried to make the situation easier for him.
“Mr. President,” I said, “I’ve prepared this letter for you.”
I handed him a single sheet of paper. “With my resignation as Secretary of Defense comes my deep appreciation to you for providing me this unexpected opportunity to serve,” the letter began. “I leave with great respect for you and for the leadership you have provided during a most challenging time for our country. . . . It has been the highest honor of my long life to have been able to serve our country at such a critical time in our history and to have had the privilege of working so closely with the truly amazing young men and women in uniform. . . . It is time to conclude my service.”10
As he took the letter from me, Bush’s first thoughts were personal. “Is Joyce all right?” he asked.
“She’s fine. And she’s ready,” I said. “She even typed the letter for me.”
I could see that the President was still concerned. I said, “Look, Joyce and I are tracking with you on this.”
“This is hard for me,” Bush said, shaking his head slowly. “You are a pro. You’re a hell of a lot better than others in this town.”
We talked briefly about my successor, Robert Gates. During the 1991 Gulf War, Gates had been deputy national security adviser under Brent Scowcroft. He later became CIA director. Gates had been a member of the Iraq Study Group, led by former Congressman Lee Hamilton and Jim Baker, which had counseled