Excellent.

A year from now, after the Pentagon has beaten down Mr. Gates, the President will wish he had Mr. Rumsfeld back.

I think history will conclude the greatest error on Rumsfeld's watch was not primarily Rumsfeld's. It was the decision not to expand the force structure after 9/11 to at least Gulf War 1 levels. The decision not to do this ultimately flowed from the decision not to defer tax cuts even after the nation found itself in a global war.

Rumsfeld's remark about going to war with the army you have rather than the army you wish you had is worth reflecting upon in this context. The man's greatest success was using the resources at his disposal brilliantly. The greatest failure was not being able to go to war with the army he surely knew he should have had. To be sure, he has to take responsibility for some of this failure -- Secretaries are expected to go to the mat for their department's needs -- but the President needs to share it with him. Tax policy is his call, not Rumsfeld's. Rumsfeld didn't try to wage war on the cheap as a matter of discretion; he waged war on the cheap because he had to.