PORTLAND – Democratic Reps. Tom Allen and Michael Michaud were happy Wednesday to see Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld go, while Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said the reasons behind Rumsfeld’s departure should not be seen in a partisan light.

The Bush administration was too stubborn to dismiss Rumsfeld ahead of the election, and that underscores part of the administration’s problem, Allen said.

“The administration has tended to act as if any admission of error at any time is a sign of weakness instead of a sign of taking responsibility for your mistakes. I think that stubbornness really hurt them over time,” Allen said.

For his part, Michaud said it’s “long past time” for Rumsfeld’s departure.

In her statement, Snowe said the change at the helm of the Pentagon “must represent a significant departure from a strategy in Iraq that has allowed the explosion of the sectarian violence.

“The war is not a Republican or a Democrat issue and must not be dealt with through purely partisan terms – the stakes are too high for our men and women serving in Iraq, for the entire Middle East region, and indeed the world,” Snowe said.

The senator said the government in Washington must work in a bipartisan way to formulate “the best strategy for the Iraqi government to take control of their own country once and for all,” said Snowe.

At a White House news conference, Bush said he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

Before the election, President Bush said he wanted Rumsfeld to stay for the remainder of his term. Bush said Wednesday he told that to reporters because he didn’t want to inject a major military decision into the final days of the campaign.

Sen. Susan. Collins, the Maine Republican who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke highly of Gates, saying, “I have great respect for his experience, ability and intellect.”

Collins said she told Gates on Wednesday that she’s confident he would find congressional members from both parties “who would be eager to work constructively on a new strategy for Iraq and Afghanistan.”

AP-ES-11-08-06 1957EST

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