Bush Again Picks Veteran of Father's Era

In this Nov. 4, 2006 picture, former President George Bush, left, and Texas A&M President Robert Gates, right, watch as the Corps of Cadets enter the stadium before the Oklahoma-Texas A&M football game in College Station, Texas. President George W. Bush has nominated Gates to be the next defense secretary replacing Donald Rumsfeld. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (David J. Phillip - AP)

Almost six in 10 voters disapproved of the war in Iraq, exit polls showed in midterm races that ended a 12-year GOP reign in the House and erased a Republican majority in the Senate.

Democrats who will control the new House and may run the Senate have been near unanimous in their call for the ouster of Rumsfeld, whom to many had become the face of the Iraq war.

They welcomed Bush's decision to nominate Gates, who is subject to Senate confirmation.

"He's an extremely competent, bright guy," said Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Stansfield Turner, who was CIA chief in the Carter administration, called Gates "an excellent choice, a lower-key fellow ... a little more classy."

Bruce Buchanan, a University of Texas political scientist who has long studied the Bush family, called it "a good move. The quicker the better to take the sting out of defeat and to put the cooperative face on the administration."

Buchanan said Bush turns so often to people from his past because "it's a factor of trust. These are people who are trustworthy and competent first."

Stephen Cimbala, a Penn State political science professor who studies national security issues, called Gates "a savvy Washington insider, and a Bush loyalist _ and open to suggestions. He's perfect for healing the interagency wounds of the past six years."

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EDITOR'S NOTE _ Tom Raum has covered Washington for The Associated Press since 1973, including five presidencies.