Rumsfeld shows no sign he's ready to leave

At a news conference Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked about calls by some critics that he resign or that President Bush remove him from his post.

"Those kinds of calls have been going on for five years," Rumsfeld said. "The president has asked me not to get involved in politics and that's politics."
He then added "I'm hard at the job, working hard and getting up every day and thinking what we can do for the troops and the wonderful people who serve our country."

Rumsfeld was just asked if he feels embattled by barbs such as the one lobbed his way Wednesday by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. She wrote that his influence inside the administration is ebbing and that "one administration official says ... he's treated as an eccentric old uncle who pops off and is ignored."

"If you believe everything you read in Maureen Dowd, you'd better get a life," Rumsfeld said.