Is Rumsfeld Annoying?

By: Tracy Warner

Does Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have an annoying habit of making his point by asking his own question, then answering it?

Yes, he does.

Is Rumsfeld having a conversation with himself?

No, not really.

Is he doing it as a way of sounding as if he is responsive to the public while he is really dodging the big issues?

You bet.

For example, does Rumsfeld always successfully turn questions about the lingering Iraqi occupation into ones about how genuine the Bush administration's effort is? And does he always manage to use the question to lower expectations?

No, he's not perfect, he doesn't always succeed, but he's trying his best, and it fools some of the people some of the time.

Isn't this self-interview technique even more distracting and artificial sounding than Bob Dole's habit during the 1996 campaign of constantly referring to himself in the third person?

Tracy Warner thinks it is. Tracy Warner can hardly even stand to hear Rumsfeld speak.

If Rumsfeld asks the questions, why have reporters?

Because reporters are supposed to make him address the real issues that he dodges.

Are they successful?

No one is perfect, but they're trying.

Did I steal the idea for this column from a recent series of Doonesbury cartoons?

No, but those cartoons did help me notice that Rumsfeld's real-life habit is just as bad as the parody.

Are cartoon strips an appropriate place to get ideas for pieces of commentary?

Ask the Iraqi people. Ask them if they think the U.S. secretary of defense really wants to talk about how well the war went. Ask them if he knows how to avoid the hard questions.

Do I think Rumsfeld should resign because of this agonizing habit?

No, I think he should resign because he has no credibility and badly misjudged the level of force needed for the occupation.

Yes, if he keeps it up. Could he start losing track and answer the questions before he asks them, as in Jeopardy!?