Gates to remain at Defense
ABC reports that Robert Gates will stay on as Secretary of Defense. This is likely to be a short-term run to help ease the transition in a time of war.
Also, Gates isn’t as much of a douchebag as Rumsfeld was.
I expect Richard Danzig will be named as his understudy, although a Hagel placement remains a possibility (one that I am not keen on). And yes, for the record, I’ve now gotten 4 right and 6 wrong from my predictions – and 4 out of 8 actual cabinet secretaries. Go ahead and link me to someone who got more right then me – and don’t give me anyone who gave a list of several different possibilities for the same post.
Note – I would expect at least a couple people must have beaten me. I mean, Geithner and Clinton were not very surprising picks.
I don’t like the choice. Being less of a douchebag than Rumsfeld is not a very high bar to pass. Keeping a Republican in that positions just reinforces the myth that Republicans are strong on defense in my opinion. However, if Gates will be there to implement Obama’s agenda instead of impede it, I’ll be alright. I also read that a lot of Gates’s deputies are the neocons that came in with Rumsfeld. Are we getting rid of them? I don’t think we should let a neocon anywhere near the defense department.
I agree with UI. If there is one department that is in need of a house cleaning, it is defense. ….and Justice….
er…and State….
Okay. They all need house cleanings.
IMHO, that’s what would happen if Hagel were appointed Defense Secretary. Keeping Gates on is just a matter of wartime prudence, so that Gates’ successor has time to build a rapport with the generals.
…Danzig…
Why does the song Mother suddenly play over and over in my head?
…waiting to see how many get this reference…
Smitty,
I love that song! I don’t know why, Danzig is so scary but now you’ve got it stuck in my head.
Jason,
I think a lot of the government needs a fumigation.
I’ve been reading the reasoning for keeping Gates in and it makes some sense. I can see why Obama did it, though I still don’t agree. I hope the biggest change we’re getting will be in our military policy.
Now what would be really impressive is if you had “Die Die My Darling” stuck in your head. Now THAT is old school.
Just off the top of my head, maybe Gates is being left in place because the Obama transition is so focused on the economy right now and the Iraqis have set the withdrawal deadline. It is urgent that DOD be fixed, but less urgent than the economic melt-down. That is the all-consuming issue right now.
This will really get folks riled up but, Senator Carper says that Gates is a smart man and can be trusted.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I swear I read somewhere Gates was an Independent, until his GWB appointment. Does anyone else remember something like that? Maybe that helped tip the scales of the stay.
Change.
Joanne,
Gates is a pragmatist and he’s from the Scowcroft school. He’s really Bush 41’s man. Does that make him better than Rumsfeld – absolutely. Does it make him better than a Democratic nominee – not necessarily.
I know that Obama is focused on the economy and Iraq seems to be winding down. We’ll still need good leadership to do things like repeal DADT and reducing the bloated, rotting defense budget. Will Gates do that?
X,
The original or the Metallica remake?
Thanks UI-I suppose it is wiser to keep dismantling w/ the same crew, that is focused and on task, instead of all that transitioning and learning curve loss. Plus too–if anything does go wrong, I guess it will be nice to still have a GWB scapegoat around (and I do mean that; as an insulation of this war is not Obama’s).
Joanne,
A lot of people think that keeping Gates around is a brilliant move by Obama for the reasons you stated (keeping some blame on Bush).