It may strike some people as odd that I am the one writing this diary after my initial reaction to the selection of Leon Panetta to be Director of Central Intelligence. I'm still not particularly thrilled by the choice, but my opinions have never been written in stone. Nonetheless, it seems that Feinstein's and Rockefeller's and Bond's initial reactions to the pick, and their surprise about it, came because the leak of Panetta's name was not intentional, which is rare for the Obama team and probably left the media even more confused in the wake of the surprise pick. They would have been consulted this week during Obama's visit to D.C., and the intentional-leak would have come later this week. In the mean time, Panetta is now receiving some strong backing that may save his candidacy.
John Deutch, former CIA Director under President Clinton, has come out strongly in favor of both Leon Panetta for DCI and Admiral Dennis Blair for DNI. He called Panetta "an absolutely fabulous choice", and the pair overall is "a tremendously powerful team that will do fabulously well for the intelligence community.
George Tenet, former CIA Director under President Clinton and President Bush, has told intelligence officials that he approves of the pick. He also told Bloomberg that Panetta "will bring stature and leadership to the agency."
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and member of the Select Intelligence Committee, said that Panetta will bring change and reform to the agency. He also signaled that he was consulted in advance about the pick, meaning that the unintentional-leak came before Obama's team could speak with Rockefeller and Feinstein.
Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana, member of the Select Intelligence Committee, and Mr. Blue Dog of the Senate, said on Rachel Maddow last night that he would support the choice.
Tim Roemer, a veteran Democrat lawmaker who is highly respected in the intelligence community, was unequivocal in his support for Panetta. His interview with The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder is worth reading.
However, Leon Panetta isn't yet a done deal. His confirmation will perhaps be as contentious as Eric Holder's. Ambinder puts the chance of confirmation at 80%, and that seems about right to me. This is assuming that the transition team does a more effective job at marketing Panetta to the general public, intelligence circles, and the Senate. So far they haven't done a great job, and I don't think anyone can dispute that.
Oh, and to clarify; opposition to Panetta doesn't necessarily make someone pro-torture, and the people claiming such are scumbags that need to stop viewing the world in black-and-white terms, need to stop reacting like some knee-jerk, and who need to be a little more civil and responsible. That's the end of that brief rant.