Who Will Get Rummy's Goat?

It looks baaaaad for Rummy.

"Rummy's Other Role, The Perfect Scapegoat" for the Iraq mess frames the debate.

If Rumsfeld resigns as Bush's Secretary of Offen.... er, Defense, who then will be the scapegoat for the biggest, deadliest, costliest U.S. foreign policy blunder ever? Bush? Cheney?

Maybe "scapegoat " doesn't quite capture Rummy's role. After all, he took personal and military charge of the Iraq adventure... more of a ramrod turned scapegoat when things went wrong.

Of course, the "buck stops here" fault lies with the White House's "forward leaning" foreign policy, painting a target on Iraq almost from the git-go.... garbage in, garbage out.

Rummy is probably history. "He may not have an exit strategy for Iraq, but, old Washington hand that he is, he undoubtedly has one for himself." (WaPo)

As survivor Rummy abandons the scapegoat mantle, how will Rove protect his boss, snarly Cheney, or their frat-boy figurehead leader Bush, from scapegoatism.... of course, it'll be "Clinton's Fault."

Good try.

Note to White House buck-passing spinners: To the excuse-weary electorate, that strategy would be another baaaaad idea.