Interesting article in the New York Sun. If what it says is true, Rumsfeld is staying on -- but perhaps only until the spring. Cheney's the guy who wants Rumsfeld to stay on longer;

Karl Rove and other White House advisers, however, have maintained that Mr. Rumsfeld has become a political liability and will undermine possible improvement in relations between Washington and European allies, the sources said. "The White House political shop wants him out now," a senior Defense Department source said of Mr. Rumsfeld.

Condoleezza Rice wants Rummy's job -- and if she gets it,

several neoconservative advisers brought in by Mr. Rumsfeld would be expected to leave.

(Douglas Feith has already said he's leaving.)

Oh, and "a Pentagon official says" that Colin Powell "may remain several months after Mr. Rumsfeld has departed."

If this is accurate, then Rove is pressing for a mandate from history for Bush and the GOP, while Cheney is defending his longtime pal Rummy, fighting for the neocon worldview, or both.

Where is Bush in all this? I think he'd like to work with Europe -- albeit 100% on his terms. Still, he doesn't think of himself as intransigent, he doesn't think he's looking to take on the world, so he may not step in to prevent the departure of Rumsfeld. It could be Rove vs. Cheney in a battle for Bush's brain. I can't tell who'd win that one.