Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the controversial face of US war policy, quit on Wednesday after Democrats rode Americans' anger over Iraq to victory in Tuesday's congressional elections.

Decius wrote:

That was too fast. It was planned.

I'll accept it's reasonable to think that this resignation has been under deliberation for a while now. But if it was "planned", cui bono? After the election, it reinforces the decisions of those who tipped to the Democrats this time. They think, "my vote got through to them. But why did it have to come to this?"

If the resignation had come a week or two before the election, it could have been part of the "new strategy" story, showing that the President is finally responding to reality in Iraq and to public sentiment at home.

If Rumsfeld personally controlled the announcement date, the post-election timing could be his way of sending his own message to the rest of the Administration.

The coincident timing of the Vanity Fair article is another reason to suspect this has been planned for a while now.

RE: Rumsfeld quits after Democrats ride Iraq to win - washingtonpost.com