OMG, another leak.
Seeking experience in a time of war, President-elect Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates in that job — if only temporarily — and he has chosen a retired Marine general to be his national security adviser, officials said Tuesday. Gates and retired Gen. James Jones bring years of experience to the Cabinet of a 47-year-old commander in chief with a relatively thin foreign policy resume.
Obama, who rolled out the key components of his economic team this week, plans to announce his foreign policy braintrust after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Gates, who has served as President George W. Bush's defense chief for two years, will remain in the Cabinet for some time, probably a year, according to an official familiar with discussions between the two men. A Democratic official said Jones was Obama's pick to head the National Security Council, the part of the White House structure that deals with foreign policy.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not authorized anybody to discuss the deliberations.
I think most of us expected this pick. He's got his Republican now. Hopefully, Gates will be replaced once Obama is comfortably settled in as President. And don't be fooled by the conservative talking heads that cheer on his moves. It's all designed to tweak us and I bet behind the scenes all the David Brooks types are laughing, trying so desperate to be relevant again.
Meanwhile:
John Brennan won't be CIA Director or DNI
This is really exceptional news on multiple levels -- the best political news I've heard since the election:
