That's Not a Knife, That's a Knife!: Crocodile Rumsfeld

Bob Schieffer and company invited Donald Rumsfeld on "Face the Nation" this morning, and Rumsfeld was even less smooth than usual. When Elizabeth Bumiller asked him about the administration's attacks on John Murtha, he said, "Oh, goodness. I've been in Australia. I have not followed the tit for tat, who said what."

So, let's see, there's a war going on in one part of the world, and Rummy travels to Australia to talk about Iraq. Australia has troops in Iraq, and they are right to be updated on what's going on, but why is Australia getting more love from Rumsfeld than the United States? And that mission to Australia seemed awfully diplomatic to me. Isn't that sort of trip supposed to be Condoleezza Rice's job?

The Australia trip is important because Rumsfeld has been using it as an excuse to avoid discussing John Murtha's statement that the United States should withdraw from Iraq. He even said, "I haven't seen any of these reports. I've been on an airplane flying back from Australia. I just don't what you're referring to."

Well, aren't you supposed to be briefed before you go on the Sunday morning talk shows? Are any of you people capable of doing your jobs? And what do people caught not doing their jobs do? They get rude:

Oh, come on. I'm not going to get into all of that stuff. Whatever the president said, I--you quoted him. I agree with the president. How's that?

Then he slipped and indicated that he did know something about the firestorm Murtha set off, along with the House troop withdrawal measure: "Well, we have a president who knows that the war is worth fighting. And it is. And I think that the bulk of the Congress reflected that in the vote. You didn't see many people, Republican or Democrats."

The acid positively dripped from Schieffer's voice when he replied: "So you got word on that out there in Australia."

Yes, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, that's not a knife, that's a knife!