Bill Sweetman over at the Ares blog asks the by far the most appropriate question this morning. Who will President-elect Barack Obama select to be the next Secretary of Defense?
Certainly, the successive tenures of Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates have left no doubt about the huge implications of such a choice.
We know (because it's been widely reported) that Obama is advised on national security by three pillars of the Clinton-era Pentagon: former US Marine Corps Commandant and EUCOM chief Gen James Jones, former deputy secretary of defense John Hamre and former secretary of the navy Richard Danzig.
There are others who suggest Gates would be a smart, albeit short-term, pick. And I've heard a few people mention Colin Powell.
You also have to consider potential wild cards from the ranks of Congress and business.
William Cohen left a safe Republican seat in the Senate to work for Bill Clinton. (Paging Joe Lieberman?)
Robert McNamara left a cushy job as CEO of Ford to work for John Kennedy. (Paging ... er, Alan Mullaly?)
Certainly, the successive tenures of Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates have left no doubt about the huge implications of such a choice.
We know (because it's been widely reported) that Obama is advised on national security by three pillars of the Clinton-era Pentagon: former US Marine Corps Commandant and EUCOM chief Gen James Jones, former deputy secretary of defense John Hamre and former secretary of the navy Richard Danzig.
There are others who suggest Gates would be a smart, albeit short-term, pick. And I've heard a few people mention Colin Powell.
You also have to consider potential wild cards from the ranks of Congress and business.
William Cohen left a safe Republican seat in the Senate to work for Bill Clinton. (Paging Joe Lieberman?)
Robert McNamara left a cushy job as CEO of Ford to work for John Kennedy. (Paging ... er, Alan Mullaly?)
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