Senator Lieberman says Rumsfeld should go

RAW STORY
Published: Friday August 4, 2006

Click here to here an audio excerpt from the Ed Schultz Show.

Calling in from his campaign bus, Joe's Tomorrow Tour Bus, Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) told syndicated radio host Ed Schultz (right) that "a new face at the head of the Pentagon might help to open minds and rebuild some public support support here in America" for the Iraq war.

Asked if he will win on Tuesday, Lieberman expressed confidence saying, "I do. I am not kidding myself. This is a tough fight and basically my opponent coming out of nowhere with no real experience in government spending a lot of his own money is trying to convince the Democrats in this state, the ones who come out for primaries, to basically send a message to George Bush through me. But glory, I'm no George Bush."

Nine minutes into the interview, Schultz turned the interview to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, asking "Do you think Don Rumsfeld should resign or stay on the job?"

Lieberman responded, "I understand you are asking that after Hilary Clinton's statement yesterday..."

Cutting in, Schultz told Lieberman that "there's also been seven Generals that [believe] he should leave, too."

Lieberman continued, "I understand their calls...Two and one half years ago... I was asked and I will give you the same answer I gave then.

"Rumsfeld serves at the pleasure of the President. But, I can tell you this, if I were President, I would say "Thank you, but we need some new leadership at the Pentagon."

Schultz then asked, "So you think Rumsfeld should go?" After an extended response from Lieberman, Schultz said he was assuming Lieberman's answer to the question was "yes."

"I have to take that as a "yes;" I think our audience would take it as a 'yes,'" he said.

Lieberman replied, "Yeah. Yeah Yeah. -- No. No, it is a 'yes.'"