jillio

Secretary Gates said President Obama is 'very analytical' and 'delves very deeply' into issues.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was a prominent member of former President George W. Bush's Cabinet, told CNN that he is enjoying working for Bush's Democratic successor.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, Gates praised Obama’s approach to decision-making as the nation's commander-in-chief.

"He is very analytical," Gates told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. "He is very deliberate about the way he goes through things. He wants to understand everything. He delves very deeply into these issues."

Gates, who previously worked for 27 years in the CIA under six presidents, was the first defense secretary to be asked to remain in office by a newly-elected president when Obama kept him on.

The Pentagon chief was diplomatic when comparing Obama to other former occupants of the Oval Office.

"I'm not going to get into comparing the different presidents, Gates said. “I very much enjoy working for this one."


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Deafness

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shel90

This man is probably the better judge than all of us on how Obama is performing at his job. We all are the outsiders while he is the insider.

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Beowulf

I am not surprised Gates enjoys working with him. It is becoming increasingly apparent that not only is Obama an analytical thinker, but like a good chess player, he thinks several moves ahead. I do not blame him for keeping Gates on board.

Jiro

I wouldn't say Obama is a good chess player. To me - he is still very inexperienced compared to other Presidents. A good chess player is good because he has decades of experience, not necessarily because he's a genius like Bobby Fischer. but Obama is very smart to keep people on board who are smarter than him. Some bosses have ego issue and do not hire excellent advisers.

He listens to them and questions them.... which made the meetings much longer than usual. It's a serious issue that needs serious discussion. but hey - everybody's got different management style. Bush has his and Obama has his. Some prefers to micromanage everything... some prefers to use close friends to oversee the matter.... some prefers outsider.... etc.

Bush's style is more of cronyism and business. Obama's style is more of some micromanaging and personal.

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Jiro

Don't forget - Obama is his boss. Do not bite the hand that feeds you

I'd wait for his memoir book when he's long retired as an old wrinkly fart Alan Greenspan's book is a perfect example of that.

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Lighthouse77

I hate to say it, but there are conspiracy against him because they think he is like a good chess player.

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Cowpuppy

It shows that Obama has respect for intelligence and military thinkers and not trying to overlook thier intelligence with his own.
We are back to the 'working together' scenario....whereupon two heads are better than one. When you ignore others purpose the communications tend to be lacking after a while. As per Colin Powel and Gates and most anyone under cheney bush......yes, little c little b. It was a two man government. You were told to 'go .... yourself'....after that communication stopped duh.

CJB

I think one of the things that makes Obama a strong leader is that he doesn't get caught up in his own ego.

BradB08

I wasn't big on Gates as Obama's Defense Secretary at first but now, it seems to make more sense.

jillio

Agreed. And the reason that those who are opposed show such fear is that they can't understand the process of analytical thinking and considering all angles. They can't see any further than the end of their nose, and are completely baffled by intelligence and fluid thinking.

darkdog

Then explain to me the principled arguments of his opposition. Switch sides for a moment and demonstrate your understanding of all angles.

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jillio

What principled arguments? Things like, "Get government out of my health care, but don't touch my Medicare!!!" ?

darkdog

Ahh, understand all angles for thee, but not for me. I somehow knew you would throw out such a straw man. If you actually understood the points we make, you probably wouldn't have such a cartoonish view of us.

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jillio

The vast majority have a cartoonish view of the Teabaggers. Probably has something to do with Halloween costumes, statements like the above, and inflamatory and offensive signage, instead of intelligent and well informed presentation of the points.

And it wasn't a straw man. That quote, and many others expressing the same sentiment, have been attributed to this group many,many times over. It is indeed a part of their platform, and therefore, one of the points they focus on.

darkdog

That quote has been attributed to them by politicians and liberals trying to ridicule them. I have not seen anyone make that point directly. Being worried about lowered Medicare benefits is not the same as not knowing that Medicare comes from the government. Taking an argument and twisting the nuance out of it is a straw man by definition.

And have you ever seen any large protest without at least a few offensive signs and people wearing costumes? How many liberal causes would be invalidated by such a standard?

Now, can you actually list any of the intelligent and well-informed points that the opposition is actually making, and not just crap made up by Democrat politicians?

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jillio

They have been caught on tape any number of times making such statements.

And, no I can't. I am too distracted by their ignorance, lies, and misrepresentations.

BradB08

That would be like asking me to listen to an angry person scratching their nails along a chalkboard.

No thanks.

darkdog

At least you're willing to admit you don't consider all angles, although how do you know it's all just lies and misrepresentations if you don't even know what they're saying? That is, unless you redefine a lie as "anything that goes against my agenda".

As an opponent, let me demonstrate what "considering all angles" looks like. Just focusing on health care reform, I'll quickly argue the pro-ObamaCare case.

Of course that's not everything, but that covers most of the main points. I don't agree with all that, but I do understand it. I least I know what I'm rejecting and why.

Now, if you actually want to hold yourself to your own standard that you expect from the opposition, here's three articles that explain some of the reasons for our opposition, just on the issue of health care. This is no way covers all of our points. You don't have to agree with all the points, but it's not unreasonable to ask that you understand them.

Impossible Promises: Obama says his health care plan will cut costs and increase patient choice. It won't. - Reason Magazine
Charles Krauthammer - Preventive Care Isn't the Magic Bullet for Health Care Costs - washingtonpost.com
Third party payment in health care (part 3): Technology drives cost growth|KeithHennessey.com

And just so you don't think we have no solutions, Keith Hennessey has a nice succinct list of alternative reform solutions.

Hennessey?s health care reform plan, v2|KeithHennessey.com

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Reba

I thought this was about Gates? :scratch:

darkdog

It was until it became about Obama and his opposition.

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jillio

Misinterpretation on your part...or deliberate attempt to twist words. Who knows which? I did not say I did not know what they are saying. I know very well what they are saying. What I said was, they have not managed to convince the majority that they have valid and sustainable points. Comments like "Get the government out of health care, but don't touch my Medicare!", walking around with offensive images on signs, fear based on something that does not exist, but has been perpetrated by lying entertainers, and dressing up in Halloween costumes is the image they are intentionally displaying. If they want to be taken seriously, they need to engage in intelligent and serious discussion of the issues instead of acting like a bunch of lunatics.

I have considered both sides. I simply find the Teabaggers to be totally without merit, and dangerously ill informed and ignorant.

jillio

It has been attributed to them because they have been caught on camera numerous times making such statements. No need to "attribute."

darkdog

Gee, then perhaps you shouldn't have answered "And, no I can't. I am too distracted by their ignorance, lies, and misrepresentations" when asked if you could list some of the intelligent and well-informed points. That doesn't require much misinterpretation or twisting- it's pretty direct. If you really meant that you're capable but don't want to, why not prove it? And do you really think those articles I posted are written in a lunatic fashion? Do you really want me to show you how lunatic your side can be at protests? Do you think I, who have attended two Tea Party protests, don't have a grasp on what your side is saying? Oh, so many questions!

By the way, I find it odd that you would talk about "teabaggers" using offensive signs while referring to them with crude sexual term which would be inappropriate to define here. So much for engaging in serious discussion.

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darkdog

Sure such videos exist . Let me guess, they're embedded in HR 3200, right?

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jillio

And I stand by my statement. I can't list any intelligent and well-informed posts because on the off chance they have even made a single one, it has been obscured by their circus like antics.

If you are looking for credibility for attending a Teabaggers rally, you are looking in the wrong place. Which sign were you carrying? The one that protrays Obama as a witch doctor, or the one that portrays him as Hitler? Or perhaps you had the one innaccurately crying about socialism and Marxism.

Teabaggers is the name they have coined for themselves. Obviously they didn't think that one all the way through, either.

jillio

They have been all over the news. Try watching something other than Faux News for a change, and you will see them. Direct quotes have been in several newspapers, as well.

My, but denial is a strong defense mechanism.

darkdog

Awesome. Now I have something definitive to rub your face in next time you accuse people like me of not being willing to look at all sides. Serious, intelligent arguments are there. I provided links to several of them and there are many more where they came from.

I didn't bring the witch doctor sign because that idiot is not me. I didn't bring the Obama-Hitler sign because I am not a leftist LaRouche Democrat. My sign said nothing about socialism or Marxism because I think statism is a more accurate word. My sign had a graph of future projected debts from the GAO and a list of the ticking fiscal time bombs.

Are you saying I should never get active and attend a rally unless I can be sure I agree with every single sign there? You know the probability of that is about zero, right? Do you hold yourself to that same standard?

Guess what? I also didn't like the few birther signs I saw, but most of the signs were reasonable and most of the people were normal concerned citizens.

Wrong. It was the media who coined it.

I'm invoking the first law of jillio: If jillio says something's there, it's not there. I usually don't bluff like that, but with you, I feel very comfortable doing so. Please, oh please, don't provide a link and put egg on my face!

Anyway, I'm out of here unless you want to provide me with something of substance and not just more jillioisms.

Sincerely,
darkdog

P.S. I rarely watch Fox News.

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kokonut

Duly impressed with DD's rational thinking rather than to make constant excuses hand over fist on not wanting to follow through. We know bad acting when we see one.

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"... turns out they are telling the truth."

Reba

Back in April:
MSNBC: The Place for Low-Brow 'Teabag' Humor

deafskeptic

When I first heard the word "teabaggers", I wondered what World of Warcraft PVP (Player vs Player; you kill the other player's characters) had to do with politics. In WoW, teabagging is often done after you kill someone. Teabagging isn't something I do. I just leave corpses where they are and I don't camp them unless they're very annoying.

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