SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES A. BAKER III
The Washingtonian's gossip column is reporting that Washington insiders think that Donald Rumsfeld will be replaced in midsummer by former White House Chief of Staff, Treasury Secretary and Secretary of State James Baker.

This strikes me as a smart move (if you must throw Rummy over) that would be help Bush politically, and may have positive results for our relations in the middle east. The press seems impressed with Jim Baker (though they'd probably mention the 2000 Florida mess in every story about his nomination), the news might come near the Democratic Convention, sucking further life out of it, and it would go a long way toward healing any divisions between State and Defense. Plus, the Arab world tends to like the guy.