“One day after the [November 7, 2006] election came an announcement that stunned Washington: [Secretary of Defense] Donald Rumsfeld was resigning. The news broke just before lunch on November 8. …It was an abrupt reversal for [President] Bush. Shortly before the election, the president said that he expected Rumsfeld to remain in his job until the end of the Bush administration. ‘After a series of thoughtful conversations,’ Bush said, in announcing the change, ‘Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon.’ ”
– Stephen F. Hayes, Cheney, Page 514