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GUEST: William Hartung, Senior Research Fellow at the World Policy Institute

The day after the Democrats regained control of the House and, according to the Associated Press, have won a majority in the Senate, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced his resignation. In a press conference yesterday, President Bush announced his acceptance of Rumsfeld’s resignation and nominated Robert Gates to be his replacement. Gates is a former CIA director who served under George H. W. Bush’s presidency. The President lauded Rumsfeld as a “patriot who served this country with honor and distinction,” but noted that both he and his beleaguered Defense Secretary agreed that the time had come for a “fresh perspective” on Iraq policy. Rumsfeld had come under increasing criticism for his management of the War on Iraq. Numerous retired generals as well as Congressional Democrats have called for his resignation in recent months. During the course of his tenure, Rumsfeld offered his resignation twice before only to have President Bush deny his requests. A CNN poll conducted late last September, and prior to the particularly bloody month of October in Iraq, revealed that Rumsfeld’s popularity was fledging with only 35% of respondents holding a favorable view of him. Donald Rumsfeld, who was one of the longest serving Defense Secretaries and the only to serve under two administrations, headed the pentagon from 1975 to 1977 under President Ford and again from 2001 to 2006 under current President Bush.