Many a voice on this board has complained about Rumsfeld, and many have wondered why he hasn't been replaced, despite some pretty big problems.

Word around NASA is this: alot of people expected O'Keefe to replace Rumsfeld pretty early on. BUT, the Columbia accident messed up that transition, as O'Keefe needs to stay at NASA until the shuttle is launched, or some other satisfactory conclusion has been reached.

This is opinion, I don't have any secret memos nor am I claiming any done deals.

But, it may explain why wheels haven't been turning. It also shows how some random piece of ice can have some pretty far reaching implications.

BTW, word from NASA higher-ups is that the top brass in the military loves O'Keefe. Again hearsay...but it came from folks who don't have much love for SO and might know something about this.