TOM KEAN DOES A LITTLE BOUNCY BOUNCY... WITH A TWIST: HE WANTS TO FIRE RUMSFELD TOO-- BUT KEEP ALL HIS POLICIES

Today Frank Rich makes a point about Bush being a divider, not a uniter, while Don Rumsfeld is finally being recognized as the united he always was. "With indefatigable brio, he has long since united Democrats, Republicans, generals and civilians alike in calling for his scalp." He even managed to insult a large and growing majority of non-Beltway Americans who favor the end of the U.S. occupation of Iraq by accusing us of suffering from a "moral or intellectual confusion."

"What made Mr. Rumsfeld's speech noteworthy," writes Frank, "wasn't its toxic effort to impugn the patriotism of administration critics by conflating dissent on Iraq with cut-and-run surrender and incipient treason. That's old news. No, what made Mr. Rumsfeld's performance special was the preview it offered of the ambitious propaganda campaign planned between now and Election Day. An on-the-ropes White House plans to stop at nothing when rewriting its record of defeat (not to be confused with defeatism) in a war that has now lasted longer than America's fight against the actual Nazis in World War II."

Even substantial numbers of Republicans aren't buying into all this Rovian claptrap. Take the GOP's pathetic and wimpy candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey, Tom Kean's embarrassing son, Tom, Jr. Junior can't wait to get to Washington to enlist in the ranks of Bush's rubber stamp senators. His whole sad campaign can be summed up in one phrase: "Send me to Washington and I'll support Bush." Even someone so obviously scraped off the bottom of the barrel as Kean had no choice but to publicly declare that Bush has to get rid of Rummy. He's still all for "stay the course" and the whole ghastly panoply of the Bush Regime's policies and over-all agenda... he just thinks Rumsfeld as a front man is... a spent force and an embarrassment.

Cognizant that his rubber stamp posture towards Bush is hurting him in the polls, he panicked when Senator Bob Menendez demanded Rumsfeld step down after his bizarre speech last week. Junior ran to the press shrilly screeching "me too, me too, me too." His message of desperation: "Bush good/Rumsfeld bad." Instead, most people are probably getting it: Junior is an idiot. I'm willing to bet that Lieberman or whichever Bush shill the Regime installs to replace Rumsfeld will be exactly as horrible as Rumsfeld since, let's face it, the rot starts at the head (Cheney, Bush and Rove).