With War Losing Support, Rumsfeld Stages a Retreat

Putting the Freaks Back in the Box:
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, once so popular as an administration spokesman for the Iraq war that President Bush dubbed him a "matinee idol," has reduced his public profile, trimming appearances as the war has turned from a positive for the Bush campaign into a potential liability. Critics, particularly on the left, have delighted in the shrinking Rumsfeld role. The man who gave daily progress reports at the Pentagon in the heat of the war has appeared only twice at Pentagon briefings since May. And the White House, which coordinates which administration officials appear on the networks' news-making Sunday talk shows, has not lined up a Rumsfeld interview for months, although a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that the White House did not want Rumsfeld speaking out. [more]