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No, the Story of the Day was not Paris Hilton. NBC anchor Brian Williams narrated the day's dilemma on the assignment desk: "If you were watching television today, then you saw it happen. While the Pentagon announcement was being made about General Pace, many of the cable news networks broke away to what was judged to be a more urgent breaking story out of Los Angeles." Well the network nightly newscasts kept their eyes on the ball, and quite right too. All three networks led with the decision by the Pentagon not to renominate Peter Pace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that Pace's name would not be put forward for a second two-year term because "a bruising confirmation battle was not worth it," according to ABC's Jake Tapper (subscription required). ABC and CBS reported on the opposition to Pace from Capitol Hill. "It turns out that members of both parties were Pace's downfall," CBS' Sharyl Attkisson reported. ABC's Tapper told us that Gates had told the President "two weeks ago" that his consultations with both "Democrats and Republicans" were "going poorly." NBC and CBS covered his ouster from the Pentagon. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski judged the announcement a surprise: "Pace was thought to be a shoo-in for renomination." CBS' David Martin called Pace "the latest casualty of the Iraq War--only he was brought down by Washington politics."

"Straight-laced and by the book," Pace had the nickname in the military of "Perfect Pete," noted NBC's Miklaszewski. However his critics contended that he "failed to seriously challenge his civilian bosses" on their Iraq War decisions. CBS' Martin pointed out that since Gates replaced his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld "every single one of the top commanders running the war has been replaced" too. Named as Pace's successor is a sailor, Adm Michael Mullen, with "no significant connection to the war in Iraq" as ABC's Tapper put it.

Andrew Tyndall 6/9/07 9:10:58 pm

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