Farewell to a Good Man

I like Donald Rumsfeld. I like the way he expresses himself. I like how he refused to take any garbage from politicians who thought they deserved deference. I like how was unafraid to show contempt for the combative press. I admire his long career as a public official, as well as his impressive tenure as an executive. I think he followed his instincts and his own best ideas in a very, very difficult time. Some thoughts:

• This is from a speech Secretary Rumsfeld delivered today at Kansas State University. I am also convinced of this sentiment (my emphasis):
  As we look back on those critical years during the Cold War, so too our grandchildren will one day look back on this time as a defining moment in America’s history. History will judge whether we did all we could to defeat a vicious extremist enemy that threatened our security, our freedom, our very way of life. Or, if we left it to the next generations to try to fight an enemy strengthened by our weakness, and emboldened by our lack of resolve.
  Over my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to live in times of great consequence, times of war and times of peace. I have met countless Americans from every corner of our magnificent country, and I have developed an abiding faith in the wisdom and good judgment of free people over time to come to the right decisions. I have seen us triumph over dictators and tyrannies of many forms, and I believe that if we persevere today -- and I am convinced we will -- if we make the right choices, and develop a clear understanding of the war we face today, we can overcome the increasingly lethal threats of this young century.
  Despite all the enemy tries to do to make the world think otherwise, America is not what is wrong with the world. America is a force for good. We are on the right side of history. Let there be no doubt that the great sweep of human history is for freedom and we are freedom’s side.
• Victor Davis Hanson is an excellent commentator, and I enjoyed this entire column, but I include it here for the first item, his assessment of Donald Rumsfeld's tenure as Defense Secretary.
• This is an entertaining look at the political aspects of the timing of the Rumsfeld resignation.

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Dick Armey was a key member of Congress and helped win the House for Republicans in 1994. He is a practical thinker and offers a helpful postmortem on the Republican Revolution that expired last Tuesday. This is an opportunity for Republicans.