WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Asked if he thought the United States was winning the war in Iraq, defense secretary nominee Robert Gates answered with a simple "No, sir."

The nominee said he suspects that, in hindsight, the Bush administration would have handled some decision differently, "and I think one of those is that there clearly were insufficient troops in Iraq after the initial invasion to establish control over the country." - CNN

I'm not happy that he says we'll be in Iraq at least another 2 years, but he is the first guy in this administration honest enough to pubically admit what is obvious to almost everyone else on Earth. That alone deserves some sort of recognition. To those that oppose his nomination (and there are legitimate reasons to do so), I must point out that Gates is the best we are going to get from bush, and the sooner we get someone approved by the Senate, the sooner Rumsfeld will stop taking tax dollars in salary for possibly the worst job performance in the history of the position. We can't undo what Rumsfeld has done, but we sure can stop paying for him for it.

Gates does not have an enviable job ahead of him and will likely be the subject of debate during his tenure. However, I believe he is a man of prudence and character who knows his limitations and has a grasp of what he must manage. The man should be confirmed.

"Gates does not have an enviable job ahead of him..."

On the other hand, Fuse, no matter what he does, it can't be seen as being worse than what Rumsfeld did; in fact, no matter what Gates does, it will almost certainly be an improvement.