Official; Gates will remain at the Pentagon

The Washington Post announces;

President-elect Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates in that job for at least a year, according to an official familiar the two men’s discussions.

Obama is expected to announce the selection of Gates and other members of a national security brain trust next week. Gates has served as President George W. Bush’s defense chief for two years.

The moderate Republican with long-standing ties to the Bush family would fulfill an Obama pledge to include a Republican in his Cabinet.

Retaining Gates provides stability for a stretched military fighting two wars during the turbulent changeover in administrations. Gates once said it was inconceivable that he would stay on past the close of Bush’s term on Jan. 20.

Suddenly he’s a moderate Republican – I hope Gates gets the same treatment from the Post over the next year – somehow I doubt it. He’s not so moderate the moonbats won’t whine that Obama didn’t paint the Pentagon pink and rename it the Peace Department and put Jane Fonda in charge. Military Times “analysts” called the appointment wrong – seems they don’t have a special inside connection.

As I said a few weeks ago, if I were Gates, I’d leave on January 20th. He’s going to be the scapegoat for every national security policy failure of the Obama Administration.

And I’ll repeat – there hasn’t been a Democrat SecDef since 1997. I’m just sayin’….

Michelle Malkin writes;

Hey, remember that campaign line Barack Obama used incessantly throughout the campaign — you know, the one deriding McCain as a Bush clone and mocking a McCain win as “four more years of Bush?”

You remember, right?

From Gateway Pundit;

So much for all that changey stuff.

The Politico reported that Gates has agreed to stay on.

Glenn Reynolds says, “I’m beginning to feel like I won this election!”

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Politics