Here we are.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay on under President-elect Barack Obama, according to officials in both parties. Obama plans to announce a national-security team early next week that includes Gates at the Pentagon and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state, officials said.
I understand that many of you will be annoyed with this choice. You are entitled to your opinion and your opinion is reasonable (well, most of you anyway). I understand that quite a few of you don't like the potential message it sends, that Democrats are weak on defense. That's a fair concern.
I just disagree here. Even if that's true, it's less important than whether or not Bob Gates should stay on for policy reasons. If Gates has agreed to execute the plays Obama calls then I'm not worried about the policy. Gates has done very good work at Defense. Having him stay on awhile does two things that Hagel or Danzig wouldn't. First up, it stresses to the military that while their mission is changing we are not throwing them under the bus. Yes, the military serves civilian masters. That doesn't mean reassuring them doesn't matter. The second thing it does is allow the Republicans to own the end of the war a little.
Think about this for a second. If President Bush negotiates the end of the war and a Republican is in charge of Defense as we draw down, they can't credibly accuse us of losing the war. Remember Vietnam, folks. Gates will do the job well because he's used to working for a boss he doesn't agree with. He'll do the job well. He'll push back in private, but he'll do what he's told.
I'm very, very pleased with the choice.