Rumsfeld Resigns!

It’s about time. Finally admitting that Iraq has slipped into civil war and implicitly acknowledging that the major project of his presidency has been a failure, Bush today held accountable the major architect of that failure, Donald Rumsfeld, by requesting his resignation.

Here are telling excerpts from the press conference, and Mr. Rumsfeld’s responses, in inimitable style: 

Rumsfeld: "Now, settle down, settle down. Hell, I'm an old man, it's early in the morning and I'm gathering my thoughts here."

Q: Why did this happen?

“Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.”

Q. Do you have any advice for your successor?

"Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post."

Q. Where the revelations in the book Cobra II instrumental in your decision to resign?

“I don’t do book reviews.”

Q: How would you sum up your tenure as Secretary? 

"If I know the answer I'll tell you the answer, and if I don't, I'll just respond, cleverly."

[laughter]

The rest can be seen here.

Update: Well how 'bout that.