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Rounding Up on Panetta
Talking Points Memo —
... with Sen. Feinstein who seemed to soften her initial coolness toward the appointment and suggested she might be more receptive if Obama kept on the CIA's current #2 guy Stephen Kappes in his current role. And this late piece in the Times quotes unnamed transition officials saying that Pres-Elect Obama does intend to do that. So presumably everybody has enough wiggle room here to avoid any sort of big fight. ...
Lining up Panetta support
Political Animal —
... Panetta's likely confirmation as a done deal, with "senators on both sides of the aisle [coming] out Tuesday in support of his nomination for the senior intelligence post." As for the Democratic detractors, Obama and his transition team " scrambled to mend a divide " yesterday, and were quick to reach out to Feinstein and Rockefeller to assuage their concerns. As part of the fence-mending, Obama will likely keep Stephen Kappes, a "highly regarded former Marine officer and agency veteran," on as the CIA's second-highest ranking official, a move that would not only please ...
Transition News 1/07
The Stump —
Obama offers a grim budget outlook. PEOTUS does quick outreach to mend rifts over the Panetta pick. David Ignatius, however, says Panetta is a good choice. Friedman gives Obama advice on the Gaza crisis. Politico breaks down the strengths and risks of Obama's economic plan. What should Obama's Justice Department focus on first? Obama transfers more than $3 million of his campaign funds to the DCCC. Michael Gerson assesses Obama's ...
The Early Word: Focus on the Budget
The Caucus —
... The Transition President-elect Obama also sought to mend fences with a Senate power player, Dianne Feinstein of California, the new chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Mrs. Feinstein issued a sharply worded statement on Monday after reports surfaced that Mr. Obama intended to appoint Leon E. Panetta as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. She was not consulted on the decision: Speaking for the first time publicly about the choice, Mr. Obama said Tuesday that Mr. Panetta and other members of the new administration would be ...
Obama Seeks to Mend Rift Over Panetta Pick
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News —
... the director of national intelligence. Because Mr. Panetta does not have a C.I.A. background, the aides said, he may be less likely to instinctively defend the C.I.A.s turf against other spy agencies. They said Dennis Blair, the retired admiral who has been tapped to become director of national intelligence, had played a role in choosing Mr. Panetta, but would have the clear mandate from the White House to set intelligence policy across the 16 intelligence agencies.... Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/us/politics/07cia.htm...
Feingold: Panetta Has Experience With the People Who Have Experience
TPM Election Central —
... tussle over the pick -- and asked him to keep saying good things.
Feingold did just that. When I asked if Panetta's lack of strict CIA operational experience could prove a hindrance, he said: "Leon Panetta has more experience than anybody I know in terms of interfacing with people who have that kind of experience."
I asked if he would support keeping current CIA No. 2 Steven Kappes on at the agency, as Dianne Feinstein would prefer (and the Obama transition has agreed to).
"I haven't decided that," Feingold said, "but it's something ...
Michael Giltz: Obama's Latest Dumb Pick: TV Doc Sanjay Gupta
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... Why was Leon Panetta picked as head of the CIA? (And what possible reason could there be for keeping Diane Feinstein out of the loop on it?) Panetta has zero intelligence experience and even his own supporters agree he'll need to have a staff of advisers who are well-grounded in the intelligence community. Gee, you think? I'd like to imagine that ALL the top people at the CIA had a strong background in intelligence. Panetta's main qualification seems to have been that he's well-known, a celebrity in political circles. Rather breathtakingly, Obama's people insist that one of ...
Feinstein's O.K. With Panetta at C.I.A.
The Caucus —
... last night, after raising objections earlier this week about his qualifications to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Asked whether she planned to support his confirmation now — following telephone conversations initiated by both President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., she said: “I believe all systems are go.” Ms. Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, had rocked the incoming administration with her criticisms that she had hoped someone with significant intelligence experience would assume the top ...
