Who's Making the Call?

"Here is a guess. The recent election feels like something more intimate than a personnel change. It feels like the beginnings of an escape from a twisted relationship. . . .

"Why are opinions so personal when it comes to President Bush? Because he has frequently sought, like the child of the 1960s that he is, to blur the line between the personal and the political. Posing as an amiable guy rather than a partisan politician has great advantages in democratic power politics. Even if not all of them vote for you, most Americans want to believe that their president is a jolly good fellow. But when a politician makes likability a substitute for authority, his opponents make hatred a substitute for opposition."

Rumsfeld's Goodbye

Ann Scott Tyson writes in The Washington Post that Bush and Cheney were effusive in their praise of Donald H. Rumsfeld, at a ceremony marking the defense secretary's departure.

"Cheney hailed Rumsfeld as his best boss, best friend, an 'ideal' public servant and 'the finest secretary of defense this nation has ever had.'

"For his part, Bush portrayed Rumsfeld as a comrade in arms. 'Don Rumsfeld has been at my side from the moment I took office. We've been through war together,' Bush said.

"'We walked amid the rubble of the broken Pentagon the day after September the 11th, 2001. He was with me when we planned the liberation of Afghanistan. We were in the Oval Office together the day I gave the order to remove Saddam Hussein from power,' he said.

"'In these and countless other moments, I have seen Don Rumsfeld's character and his integrity. He has always ensured I had the best possible advice. . . . He spoke straight. It was easy to understand him.'"

Here are transcripts of Bush's speech and Cheney's speech.

Powell Speaks Out

Karen DeYoung writes in The Washington Post: "Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell said yesterday that the United States is losing what he described as a 'civil war' in Iraq and that he is not persuaded that an increase in U.S. troops there would reverse the situation. Instead, he called for a new strategy that would relinquish responsibility for Iraqi security to the government in Baghdad sooner rather than later, with a U.S. drawdown to begin by the middle of next year.

"Powell's comments broke his long public silence on the issue and placed him at odds with the administration. President Bush is considering options for a new military strategy -- among them a 'surge' of 15,000 to 30,000 troops added to the current 140,000 in Iraq, to secure Baghdad and to accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others have proposed; or a redirection of the U.S. military away from the insurgency to focus mainly on hunting al-Qaeda terrorists, as the nation's top military leaders proposed last week in a meeting with the president.

"But Bush has rejected the dire conclusions of the Iraq Study Group and its recommendations to set parameters for a phased withdrawal to begin next year, and he has insisted that the violence in Iraq is not a civil war."

Here is video of Powell's appearance on CBS's Face the Nation.

Mary Cheney Watch

James Gerstenzang writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Although he recently expressed confidence that Mary Cheney will make a loving parent, President Bush continues to believe it is best that a child is raised by a man and woman married to each other, the president's spokesman said Friday."

Frank Rich writes in his New York Times opinion column (subscription required) that "the only Christmas season miracle to lift the beleaguered Bush administration this year has been the announcement that Mary Cheney, the vice president's gay daughter, is pregnant. Her growing family is the living rejoinder to those in her father's party who would relegate gay American couples and their children to second-class legal or human status."

Rove's Deputy Avoids Scrutiny

Aaron Sadler writes for the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas: "A former Republican political operative and top aide to President Bush was named late Friday as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

"The appointment of Tim Griffin drew criticism from Arkansas senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, both Democrats. Pryor accused the Bush administration of circumventing the traditional nomination process on behalf of a political ally.

"The open-ended appointment differs from a normal presidential selection, where Griffin would face Senate hearings and a confirmation vote.

"Pryor believes the Senate should be able to quiz Griffin about his qualifications, especially given his background as Bush's deputy director of political affairs under Karl Rove, spokesman Michael Teague said.

"Before that, Griffin worked in opposition research for the Republican National Committee. . . .

"A report by the BBC in 2004 connected Griffin to a possible effort to disenfranchise black voters in Florida. The report said an e-mailed list of 1,886 names was to be used to challenge residents' voting status."

White House Censorship?

The liberal Think Progress blog relates Middle East analyst Flynt Leverett's contention "that the White House has been blocking the publication of an op-ed he wrote for the New York Times. The column is critical of the administration's refusal to engage Iran. . . .

"Leverett says the incident shows 'just how low people like Elliot Abrams at the NSC [National Security Council] will stoop to try and limit the dissemination of arguments critical of the administration's policy.'"

There's more from The Washington Note blog.

More Protection Needed

Ken Herman writes for Cox News Service that experts foresee unprecedented security need for Bush after he leaves the White House, due largely to the war.

"Former Secret Service agent John Vance, who is a former son-in-law of former President Gerald Ford, said Bush's post-presidency will include a variety of challenges.

"'One thing is, he is a relatively young man, and young men are more active and always on the road,' said Vance, now a security consultant in Virginia. 'That takes a lot of manpower and a lot of team effort.'

"And, Vance noted, Bush will be a target.

"'He is the only president that invaded a country without provocation and without it being started by the other side. I think he has gained a lot of enmity.... There are a lot of people who resent this president, both externally and internally, some of whom have lost sons and daughters and had people injured in the war in Iraq,' he said."

Suddenly, Church Is Cancelled

Caroline Daniel of the Financial Times had early-Sunday-morning pool duty, and filed this report: "Ordered into Press Van Two, by 7:23am the pool assumed the proper sobriety of an anticipated church visit, only to be told five minutes later that: 'church is cancelled.' No reason was offered. Perhaps POTUS was keen to avoid a repeat of last week's sermon from Rev. Luis Leon that insisted: 'Repentance is changing your way, changing your mind, changing your direction. It requires the courage to acknowledge that you want to change, to change your direction.' Or perhaps he wanted more time to commune with God from the back of a mountain bike, not a pew."

Holiday Gift Watch

Roy Rivenburg writes in his Los Angeles Times humor column about holiday gift ideas for political junkies. Among them: A 'Karl Rove is Voldemort' tote bag; a shotgun-toting Dick Cheney action figure; a George W. Bush fire-starter; and Drink'n with Dubya, "a talking bottle opener that plays one of Bush's syntax-impaired sentences every time you crack open a brewski."

'His Walk Is a Lie'

Sarah Kaufman of The Washington Post writes about the unsparingly brutal antiwar work 'Banquet of Vultures,' being performed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.

And guess who's a central character?

"Taylor said he was inspired to create a dance focusing on President Bush after watching him move.

"'The first time I saw Bush walking, on television, I did not trust the man,' he said. 'His walk is a lie.

"'Walks are like fingerprints,' he continued. 'They tell a lot about us. And this one was not sincere.' . . .

"Taylor puts his self-described presidential figure right in the middle of the battlefield, watching stonily as agonies fell the troops." And he doesn't just sit there, either: "After he violates a female recruit, [he] kills her and tosses her aside."

Political Cartoon Humor

David Horsey on Bush's options; Ann Telnaes on the first lady; Walt Handelsman on the space station; and Mike Luckovich on the war slogan memorial.

Late Night Humor

Via U.S. News, Jay Leno on the Tonight Show: "CNN said today that President Bush is seriously considering sending more troops to Iraq. So apparently, his goal is to achieve a negative popularity rating."