Rumsfeld: I-what?

According to this transcript of a Dec. 7 interview between a Fox News person -- Cal Thomas, who has the personality of a palm buzzer and about as much depth -- and Donald Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld had not read the Iraq Study Group's report, even though it was released that day.

MR. THOMAS: Yeah. The Iraq Study Group Report -- you've read it, I'm sure.

SEC. RUMSFELD: I haven't.

MR. THOMAS: You haven't?

SEC. RUMSFELD: No.

Just goes to show you: never ask a leading question when you don't know the answer.

You might think, hell, he's on the way out, he just doesn't give a shit anymore -- he's doing stuff like having a circle jerk with Sean Hannity in Baghdad.

But no -- he was still on the job as of yesterday, since he led a meeting on Iraq with Bush and incoming Sec'ty Gates in attendance. I wonder if he's read it yet.

Also says:

• In retrospect, "I don't think I would have called it a war on terror.... It's not a war on terror."
• On the US's parental relationship with Iraq: "So at some point, you've got to take your hand off the bicycle seat. You get the bicycle running down the middle of the street with your youngster on it, and you're pushing and you're holding it up, and you know if you let go -- you go from a full hand to three fingers to two fingers to one finger, and you know if you let go, they might fall. You also know if you don't let go, you're going to end up with a 40-year-old that can't ride a bike. Now, that's not a happy prospect."

Also, don't miss the happy talk at the end, like:

MR. THOMAS: We got a movie theater we kind of like in our house.

SEC. RUMSFELD: Oh, do you really?

MR. THOMAS: Yeah, we decided we're not leaving anything to the kids, so we're spending it on ourselves since I earned it.

SEC. RUMSFELD: Yeah, damn right. That's my answer. (Laughter.)

MR. THOMAS: (Laughs.) There you go. And so we have this nice movie theater with surround sound --

SEC. RUMSFELD: I've heard these home theaters -- you have chairs that --

MR. THOMAS: Oh, they're fun. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah do that. You can sleep, you can do anything. It's very cool.

SEC. RUMSFELD: My wife --

MR. THOMAS: Juke box, all kinds of stuff.

SEC. RUMSFELD: My wife loves movies.

MR. THOMAS: Oh, good. Well --

SEC. RUMSFELD: She goes all the time with a group of women, and I have not been in six years to the movies.

MR. THOMAS: It'll be fun. I got one for you that'd you'd really love. You got it this Christmas. Get for her and watch it together. It's called "Akeelah and the Bee."

Link courtesy Wonkette.