Panetta to Be Named C.I.A. Director

[ChumpDumper]

So you can't remember anything he said he would do differently either.

Not a surprise.

[balli]

youtube is your friend.

Don't make arguments, not back them up with anything substantive and then tell us to go search the internets to find factual support for your bogus claims. Idiot.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

a few days ago mccain said he wouldn't support palin...so......that's kinda different.

i don't think he ever dug her at all. cindy's reaction to palin when she announced it was her wedding anniversary the day she was picked said it all to me.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Don't make arguments, not back them up with anything substantive and then tell us to go search the internets in search of factual support for your bogus claims. Idiot.

are you really that incompetent? no need to answer that. really

[balli]

I'm incompetent because I don't feel like I should have to research your arguments for you? Because you refuse to substantiate what you say? Get a clue asshole.

[clambake]

i don't think he ever dug her at all. cindy's reaction to palin when she announced it was her wedding anniversary the day she was picked said it all to me.

this doesn't make sense. cindy has quite a bit in common with baby palins grandmother.

[ChumpDumper]

are you really that incompetent? no need to answer that. really

You did answer.

Your answer was "I don't know what I'm talking about."

[Viva Las Espuelas]

you guys did vote for obama. you can't fend for yourselves so you need help. you're just going to have to wait. change is on the way.

[doobs]

This is a real head-scratcher. If Obama selected Gates to be SecDef for purposes of continuity in national defense, then why wouldn't he also select Hayden to head the CIA? Why would he select a Clintonite politician, a former congressman with no experience (correct me if I'm wrong) on an intelligence committee? A former chief of staff to President Clinton?

I don't get it. If he wanted a change in the leadership of the CIA, that's fine. But there are better candidates to choose.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

here's for all of you that need it



i'll be back to feed y'all later.

[balli]

you guys did vote for obama. you can't fend for yourselves so you need help. you're just going to have to wait. change is on the way.

Translation:

[ChumpDumper]

Seriously, you can't even say one thing to back up your own unsolicited claim.

Damn, that's funny.

[Wild Cobra]

Another Clinton retread.


Who will speak for him, SpursTalk?

Not only that, but do we want the CIA as politicized as he will likely make it?

I say he is the worse choice Obama has made.

May as well make Al Gore the head of the EPA as well.

[PixelPusher]

Not only that, but do we want the CIA as politicized as he will likely make it?

A "politicized" CIA? That cherry was broken a long, long time ago.

I agree with this take:

I always liked Panetta. He served in the Army and is openly proud of it. He seems to be a good lawyer (oxymoronic though it may seem). He's a good manager. And he's going to watch Obama's back at a place that's full of stilettos and a track record for attempted presidential assassination second to none. But Italians know all about political assassination; you may remember Julius Caesar. Or Aldo Moro. The self-proclaimed cognoscenti will deride his lack of "spycraft," and he's never worked in the intel bureaucracy or, for that matter, in foreign policy or national security. But he's been chief of staff, which involved all that stuff.

I think it's a smart move.

link

[balli]

Not only that, but do we want the CIA as politicized as he will likely make it?

Excuse me? Where the where you the past 8 years?

[Winehole23]

It makes a little more sense now. Dennis Blair is tapped for DNI.



WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Admiral Dennis Blair is Barack Obama's choice to be director of national intelligence.


Two Democratic officials said Monday that the former head of U.S. Pacific Command was the president-elect's choice for the post. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made.


His nomination has been expected, unlike Obama's other intelligence choice of Leon Panetta to run the CIA. Panetta is a former congressman and White House chief of staff who brings experience in management but not an intelligence background to the post.


Blair served in the Navy for 34 years and he was chief of the U.S. Pacific Command during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Blair is also a China expert, and he was an associate director for military support at the CIA.

[doobs]

It makes a little more sense now. Dennis Blair is tapped for DNI.



WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Admiral Dennis Blair is Barack Obama's choice to be director of national intelligence.


Two Democratic officials said Monday that the former head of U.S. Pacific Command was the president-elect's choice for the post. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made.


His nomination has been expected, unlike Obama's other intelligence choice of Leon Panetta to run the CIA. Panetta is a former congressman and White House chief of staff who brings experience in management but not an intelligence background to the post.


Blair served in the Navy for 34 years and he was chief of the U.S. Pacific Command during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Blair is also a China expert, and he was an associate director for military support at the CIA.

How does it make more sense now? Why wouldn't Obama pick another expert like Blair to head the CIA?

[101A]

Yeah, refresh our memories -- tell us everything McCain said he would do differently.

What, exactly, is Obama doing that is different?

Tax cuts? Check

Massive Govt. Spending? Check

Sounds an awful lot like the Bush economic policies that everyone claims to have gotten us into this recession, doesn't it?

[Winehole23]

How does it make more sense now? Why wouldn't Obama pick another expert like Blair to head the CIA?

Why Obama has picked a political manager rather than an expert seems to have stumped nearly everybody. I know it does me. Outsiders don't have a very good track record running the CIA.

[101A]

Some (powerful) Dems on the Hill apparently not thrilled with the pick, either...

[Winehole23]

An interesting tidbit on Panetta, from his days in Richard Nixon's HEW:

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/...5/leon-panetta

[Winehole23]

Some (powerful) Dems on the Hill apparently not thrilled with the pick, either...

OTOH, Pelosi voted for Porter Goss, a candidate with oodles of relevant experience who turned out to be awful.

[Rockhound]

Here's what Obama should do.

Hire Pelosi as his uber head adviser. Then do everything opposite of what she recommends. Pretty much guaranteed to bat .900

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Biden: Obama Made Mistake Not Consulting Feinstein

January 6, 2009 01:30 PM


The Obama transition team made a mistake by not consulting with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California before choosing Leon Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency, Vice President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday.
Feinstein, following the announcement Monday, stated that she had not been consulted and expressed concern about the Panetta pick.
While visiting the Senate, Biden was asked if Feinstein, the incoming intelligence committee chair, should have been part of the process. "I'm still a Senate man and I always think this way: I think it's always good to talk to the requisite members of Congress," said Biden. "I think it was just a mistake."
But Biden offered high praise for Panetta and said he is "totally qualified" for the CIA spot. "He's been a consumer of intelligence for a long time. He was chief of staff [in the Clinton White House]. He understands the agency. Leon Panetta will do a first rate job. He's a great manager. He understands the community and I think he'll make a great director of the CIA. I've been here for I don't know how many of them and I think he'll be as good as any we've had."
Feinstein explained her reluctance to support Panetta to Talking Points Memo:

"I understand their thinking" in choosing Panetta, Feinstein explained, describing herself as "very respectful of the president's authority ... this is the man [Obama has chosen]."
I asked Feinstein whether her reticence about Panetta's lack of ties to the CIA would be mitigated by having Steven Kappes, her preferred choice for CIA director, stay on as the agency's No 2. "I believe very strongly" that Kappes should stay, Feinstein said, adding that Panetta's standing would be "very much enhanced" were Kappes to stay his deputy.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), however, declared himself "pleased" with the choice in a statement. He added that "there are few people of whom I have a higher opinion" than Panetta.

"I am pleased by reports of the nomination of Leon Panetta to be the next CIA Director. These reports indicate that President-elect Obama recognizes the need for fresh leadership for the intelligence community. Leon Panetta has a long and distinguished career in public service and there are few people of whom I have a higher opinion. He has been a strong voice opposing the interrogation practices authorized by the Bush Administration and he is well-equipped to restore our national security, which has been undermined by the current administration's policies. I look forward to closely examining his record, hearing his plans for protecting our nation against al Qaeda and other threats, and learning how he will help restore the rule of law after years of lawlessness that have undermined our national security."
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[Winehole23]

Not so surprising that Mr. Biden would weigh in. Senate man and all that...

The President-Elect clearly omitted a courtesy, when he decided not to even pretend to consult Madam Speaker. Congresswoman Pelosi's the ranking Democrat and the longest serving member -- ever -- of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

It would have been courtly for Mr. Obama to drop in first, but the moment has passed. Maybe he meant to throw her off balance. Ms. Pelosi could've offered her advice unsolicited. Perhaps she already had.