How a couple of stand-up guys. . .

. . .ever managed to get elected to the Senate, I'll never know. But, I'm proud to call one of them, Mitch McConnell, my own. He, along with Majority Leader Bill Frist have disproven the Beltway maxim about friends and dogs in Washington, at least where Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is concerned. So, it appears that people standing vigil in the "Rummy death watch" might want to pack a toothbrush and a change of underwear. I just don't see him going anywhere anytime soon, despite all the sniping from the periphery. It must irk Senator McCain and John Warner to no end to see Rumsfeld getting support from the Senate Republican leadership, but the truth of the matter is, the GOP has seldom done wrong when it has ignored the advice and counsel of John McCain. As for Warner, he normally strikes me as an "OK" sort, though often befuddled.

I'd say the pattern will hold true for the foreseeable future.