Deptuty Sec of State Robert Zoellick Resigns

Condi just announced!

Deputy Secretary of State Zoellick quits - officials
Mon Jun 19, 2006 6:34 PM IST184

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will announce his resignation on Monday for a post in the private sector, after focusing on China and Sudan in the No. 2 job at the department, U.S. officials said.

Zoellick, a former U.S. Trade Representative before moving to the State Department in February, had been tipped as a candidate to take over as Treasury Secretary but he did not get the job.

"He is going to announce that he will be stepping down. It's a good time for him to leave as he is into his sixth year in the administration," said a senior U.S. official, who declined to be named as he did not want to upstage the official announcement at 9 a.m. EDT/1300 GMT.

The official said Zoellick would leave in July for his new position in the private sector. For several months, Zoellick has been speaking to Wall Street firms about moving to a more lucrative position there.

Before joining the State Department in February 2005, Zoellick served as U.S. Trade Representative where he completed negotiations to bring China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organization.

Several sources said recently it had been hard for Zoellick to accept his second-term appointment to a No. 2 post, even though it was for a State Department job where he had considerable independence.

<snip>

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make the announcement, but she is not expected to indicate who will replace Zoellick, another U.S. official said.

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-06-19T182604Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-255582-1.xml&archived=False

Just a scenario, not an outright prediction. Cheney's a drag on GOP 06 polling; Junior could use any boost of any kind at all; Lieberman is being beaten like a rented mule in his primary race in CT; and Condi would slice into the Dems' traditional base by drawing women and minority votes to the red column.

good thing it ain't gonna happen.

June 19, 2006



WASHINGTON (AP) -- Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, the department's No. 2 official, is resigning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Monday.

<snip>

Zoellick, who served six years in the Bush administration, said he would join the Wall Street investment house Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS)

In his resignation letter, dated June 15, Zoellick, 52, did not say why he was leaving. A former U.S. trade representative, Zoellick reportedly wanted to be promoted to treasury secretary to replace departing secretary John Snow, but President Bush nominated Goldman Sachs executive Henry Paulson instead.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/19/washington/19cnd-zoellick.html?hp&ex=1150776000&en=aaabc5765326890d&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Apparently, there were some rumors going around a few weeks ago about this.