Donald and the (Lame) Duck

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By replacing Donald Rumsfeld after Tuesday's electoral "thumpin'" by the Democrats, President George Bush has unwittingly confirmed his lame-duck status. Coming just a week after declaring that the Defence Secretary would remain for the full term of the Bush administration, the move shows that the end has come much sooner than anticipated.

The loss of the House of Representatives, and perhaps the Senate, will put the brakes on the President's legislative agenda and herald an era of Congressional witch-hunts. The knives are already being sharpened. The Democrats will demand their full pound of flesh and I don't think Rumsfeld (though undoubtedly a heavyweight) measures up. Subpoenas will soon be making their way to Administration officials inviting them to bare their breasts for the monumental failures in Iraq.

And for Republicans looking to the 2008 elections, Bush has become the millstone around their necks. During the just concluded campaigns, the President found himself shunned by many Republican candidates, his endorsement considered akin to the "kiss of death".

I expect the White House will be a very lonely place for the next two years.