I have a short, direct question. Don Rumsfeld’s shameful tenure as Defense Secretary comes to an end a week from Monday.

Meanwhile, he jaunts off on a “secret trip” to Baghdad this weekend for what’s being billed as personal farewell to the troops. We know he’s not conducting any real government business. If he wanted to personally thank “his” generals, he could have signed onto to a cheapo Web teleconference.

So why are the taxpayers underwriting this PR junket? why should one penny of public funds be spent to bolster the personal legacy of this disgraced architect of the catastrophe in Iraq?

Considering that we will be paying for this misadventure for the rest of our lives, isn’t it fair that Rumsfeld be passed the tab for this last, gratuitous weekend in Baghdad?