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Together again? Performance ReviewBy Rick Horowitz
...in which
President Bush and his defense secretary assess the record.
"...good of you to come by. It's great to kind of put our heads together at the end of the term, see where things stand. Coffee?" "No, thanks -- I'm fine." "I can have them make a fresh pot." "I'm fine. Anyway, I shouldn't take up any more of your time than I have to -- I know how busy you are." "That's OK. There isn't a lot that's more important than making sure the commander in chief and the secretary of defense are on the same page, don't you think?" "Oh, absolutely! Absolutely!" "Good. Now, overall, I'd say we've had a pretty successful four years together. Not that it's been perfect, you understand..." "A couple of glitches along the way." "Sure -- a couple of 'glitches' -- that's a good way to look at it. So I guess the biggest 'glitch' would have to be Iraq." "Iraq?" "Well, you can't say it's gone exactly the way we all thought it would, can you? After all, we were looking at a quick war, a couple of months after that to get everything settled down and then our kids are on their way home -- no muss, no fuss. Didn't quite hit it, did we?" "I guess not, but it's hardly been a failure. Sure, we may have been under by a little bit on our troop estimates -- " "A little bit." "But you'll have misjudgments in any war. It goes with the territory." "Like the Abu Ghraib thing." "Exactly. A couple of bad apples -- they don't represent America at all. By the way, I have to tell you how grateful I am that you stuck by me during that whole thing." "Wasn't ever a question." "Still, I know it had to be hard for you. It could have been really dicey, especially once all those pictures and the memos came out. Anyway, I really appreciate what you did." "Don't mention it. You can't ask for loyalty unless you're willing to show loyalty -- that's my bottom line." "Well, thanks anyway. I -- " "Speaking of which, what was the deal on the intelligence-reform bill? I'd hate to think we were going different ways on something that important. I need to know I've got your support, even if we sometimes see things a little differently." "I heard those rumors, too. But that's all they were -- rumors. I assure you, I was behind you 100 percent." "Can't have you trying to cut me off at the knees, that's all." "And you never will, I promise you." "Glad to hear it -- it makes life easier for both of us. Besides, I think things will run a lot more smoothly with our new team in place, and that's taking nothing away from Colin, who's a fine man -- " "Absolutely!" " -- and a dedicated public servant, and of course I'm sorry he decided to leave. But I think from now on, we'll all be speaking a little more with one voice, and that's a good thing." "Excellent!" "Too much squabbling -- I just can't have it. It was starting to affect the entire mission." "I understand completely." "It'll be different with Condi over there. Everyone gets along with Condi." "No question." "No question." "So anyway..." "So anyway. So the vice president and I were talking this morning, and we decided we'd like to have you on board for another four years." "Great! I mean, I'd be honored! Anything I can do to help you folks, you just let me know." "We certainly will. Look, I need to run -- got another meeting coming up. I'm glad you're with us, we'll be in touch." "Thanks, Rummy!" "Thank you, Mr. President." Posted 12/7/04. Expect
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Rick Horowitz
