Rumsfeld ‘courted by’ would-be GOP presidents
When a candidate launches a presidential campaign, it’s the beginning of a long, difficult process. But what’s often easy to overlook is the fact that these announcements are also the end of a different kind of process – candidates in both parties routinely spend months, if not years, laying the groundwork for a national race.
And a key element of this pre-campaign phase involves spending time with – and ideally, impressing – party leaders and insiders who will help shape broader perceptions about the candidates’ credibility. Philip Rucker and Robert Costa referred to this as the “credentials caucus,” as Republican presidential aspirants “quietly study up on issues and cultivate ties to pundits and luminaries from previous administrations.”
The jockeying and relationship-building is well underway. Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, and others have been cultivating ties with a parade of scholars, pundits, and veterans from the Bush/Cheney era.
But perhaps no tidbit stood out more than this one.
Former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, known for his controversial decisions during the Iraq war, has been courted by several potential candidates and plans to meet with Cruz. Cruz has hired former Rumsfeld aide Victoria Coates as his national security adviser.
If this seems unsettling, there’s a perfectly good reason for that.
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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/rumsfeld-courted-would-be-gop-presidents
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