By the second half of 2006. the American electorate had learned from both the poorly managed war in Iraq and the miserable response of the government to the hurricane damage in the South that the Bush administration was bad at governing. Whether the policies were right or wrong (they were mostly wrong) was irrelevant as the unsatisfactory execution of the administration's plans brought little save embarrassment. As a result, the Republicans lost control of Congress, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigned. During the period in question, Israel managed to not win a fight with Hezbollah, Chavez won re-election in Venezuela, and worst of all, North Korea successfully tested a nuclear weapon.