talkingpointsmemo.com - 11/12/2008
—
As you know, there was a lot of chatter yesterday about Obama keeping Bob Gates on at Defense for some indeterminate period of time. And we can talk a lot about whether or not that's a good thing. But what I'm not hearing a lot about in this discussion is the role of Brent Scowcroft. And I ...
online.wsj.com - 11/11/2008
—
online.wsj.com —
President-elect Obama is leaning toward asking Defense Secretary
Gates to remain in his position for at least
a year. An official said Gates would likely accept the offer.
(more)
Obama May Ask Gates to Keep Post
ft.com - 11/18/2008
—
ft.com —
President-elect Barack Obama and Robert Gates are negotiating
terms under which the defence secretary would remain as
Pentagon chief in his administration, the Financial Times has learned. Mr Obama, through an intermediary, has approached Mr Gates, ...
(more)
FT.com / World - Obama in talks with Gates on Pentagon role
politico.com - 11/11/2008
Comments
Blog Reactions
More on Gates
Newshoggers.com —
... a resurgent Russia is the long lost hegemonic power upon which Washington can project its secret desire for constant conflict. It matters not that GM is opening automobile plants in St. Petersburg or that Europe is intimately connected by energy demands.
If we really ever wish to see a break from that thinking, a new administration will just have to boot the buggers out or we will have to waiting until they die off. I see no boot on the horizon. Which makes this from Josh Marshall even more disturbing: One thing to understand about ...
Scowcroft
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan —
Josh is right.
Gates and the Pragmatists
Matthew Yglesias —
As Josh Marshall indicates, you need to understand talk of keeping Robert Gates on as Defense Secretary in the broader context of an effort to coopt the pragmatic realist wing of the GOP (for which “Scowcroft” is a good shorthand) and bring it into Obama’s coalition. I wrote my post-election column about this last week.
But here’s the nickle version. What you don’t want to do is “move to the center” on national security issues with Gates on board as a bipartisan token of said centrism. What you want to do is redefine the center away from the neocon / ...
Torture -- Yes We Can?
Antiwar.com Original —
... bias as head of the party's national congressional campaign committee, and mumbling " Brent Scowcroft " under their breath in explaining away the likelihood of Robert Gates staying on at Defense. How will they spin the persistence of ...
Only Surprised If You Don't Read TPM ...
Talking Points Memo —
... familiar with the conversations confirm to CNN that Obama reached out to Scowcroft for phone chats even before he ran for president, and the back-and-forth has continued in recent days as the president-elect assembles his Cabinet.
Scowcroft is very close to current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is rumored to be in the running to stay in the Cabinet for at least an interim period at the start of the new Obama administration.
Referring back to our post of a week ago.
...
This Is In Your Wheelhouse, Daniel
Balloon Juice —
... While some picks genuinely surprised me (like, for example, Hillary at State), Obama asking Gates to stay has been telegraphed for weeks if not months, and for so long that I think I knew Gates would stay on before the election. The Gates/Scowcroft/Lugar/Obama connection has been discussed at length a number of places, most recently at TPM (and he has done a bang-up job ...
Trouble on the Horizon
Talking Points Memo —
... in Jenin. Brent Scowcroft, who is I believe the key force behind the retention of Bob Gates, believes as a cardinal matter that you can't really solve anything in the Middle East before you get the Israeli-Palestinian problem settled. ...
Related Content
Obama in Talks With Gates
politicalwire.com 11/19/2008 — President-elect Obama and Robert Gates are negotiating terms under which the defense secretary would remain as Pentagon chief in his administration, the Financial Times has learned. "Mr Obama, through an intermediary, has approached Mr Gates, who has ...
Keeping Gates Signals Change
talkingpointsmemo.com 11/26/2008 — Keeping Bob Gates as Secretary of Defense was the most dramatic signal Barack Obama could have sent that he intends to implement major changes in defense policy. That may sound counterintuitive, but it has the virtue of being true. As...
Keep Gates
online.wsj.com 11/21/2008 — But Mrs. Clinton at Foggy Bottom? Can they be serious?
Gates will stay
politico.com 11/26/2008 — Mike Allen and ABC report that, as expected, Obama will keep Robert Gates as Defense Secretary.
There's a lot of logic to the move: It puts a Republican, as promised, in a top slot; it prevents Obama from taking the blame, immediately, for whatever ...
: The Pros And Cons Of Keeping Gates On At Defense
mydd.com 11/26/2008 — From Political Radar reports that President-elect Obama is expected to keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense. Sources tell ABC News that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be staying on in the top Pentagon job, for at least the first year of ...
Gates to stay at Defense
swamppolitics.com 11/26/2008 — by Frank James
It's being widely reported that President-elect Barack Obama has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on at the Pentagon and that Gates has agreed.
The move would maintain continuity at the Pentagon at a critical time ...
Gates
washingtonmonthly.com 11/26/2008 — GATES.... As has been widely reported, Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates at his post next year. This is not a surprise -- speculation about Gates staying on was common even before the election -- but it is...
Will Gates stay or go?
firstread.msnbc.msn.com 11/11/2008 —
From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski In 10 weeks, Obama will be sworn in as president, the Bush Administration comes to an inglorious end, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates could finally retire to his home overlooking Big Lake in Washington State. ...
Gates a 'Done Deal'
blogs.abcnews.com 11/25/2008 — Martha Raddatz and Jake Tapper Report: Sources tell ABC News that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be staying on in the top Pentagon job, for at least the first year of the Obama administration. "It is a done deal," a...
The Obama/Gates Pentagon
washingtonmonthly.com 12/2/2008 — THE OBAMA/GATES PENTAGON.... From a progressive perspective, there are a few concerns about Robert Gates staying on as Defense Secretary in an Obama administration. One the main issues has to do with Gates' deputies -- Gates may be a sensible...
Down the ballot: McCain headed to GA —
First Read 11/12/2008
ALASKA: "A week after Election Day, about 30 percent of the Alaska votes that will decide the fate of convicted U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens haven't been counted. The Alaska Division of Elections expects to count most of the roughly 90,000 early, ...
Follow BeltwayBlips on Twitter
