Political Skullduggery

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been acting like more of a pissant than usual, as shown by his performance on his most recent trip to Iraq this week.

Contrasted by the willed insincerity of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice--who met Rumsfeld in Baghdad--the Defense Secretary didn't even try to force himself to appear dignified.

Even though her arrival here followed an exhausting sprint through Greece and Turkey, Rice appeared energized by the task at hand. Rumsfeld arrived directly from Washington -- after a recent Asian tour -- but he seemed disengaged and bored, both to reporters traveling with him and to some U.S. officials. Some said he seemed irritated by the whole exercise. He did not speak a word to reporters with him on the flight to Baghdad.

During a joint meeting with reporters traveling with the secretaries, Rumsfeld frequently doodled with a black felt-tip pen or stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling when Rice spoke. Rice would occasionally cast a nervous glance at Rumsfeld as he prepared to respond to a question. His answers were terse; hers were expansive...

Rice courted the news media, racing through five television interviews in 17 minutes. Rumsfeld gave no separate interviews. At one point, he arrived early for a meeting and saw an array of television cameras inside the room. He shook his head at the reporters and turned on his heel.

There will be speculation in the parlors of the nation's capital about what may be the matter with Rumsfeld.

Some will say it is the strain of being the architect of the disasterous Iraq folly.

Others will proffer the opinion that he may be concerned about our upcoming war with Iran.

And the remainder of observers may venture to guess that Rumsfeld could be finding himself ensnared in a heretofore unknown scandal or illegal program of this boundary-stretching administration.