Robert M. Gates served as Secretary of Defense for President George W. Bush and then for his successor President Barack Obama. Although he relished retiring, he felt obliged to remain as Secretary when requested by the newly elected president, especially because the USA was involved in two wars.
In is recently published “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War”, Gates describe Obama as follows:
“Obama was he most deliberative president I worked for… (Editor: There were five.) As Obama would tell me on more than one occasion, ‘I can’t defend it unless I understand it.’
I rarely saw him rush to a decision when circumstances allowed him time to gather information, analyze, and reflect… As a participant in that decision-making process, I always felt more confident about the outcome after thorough deliberation. When the occasion demand it, though Obama could make a big decision – a life-and-death decision – very fast.”
“I always thought Obama was ‘presidential.’ He treated the office of the presidency with respect. I rarely saw him in the Oval Office without a coat and tie, and he always conducted himself with dignity. He was a man of persona integrity, and in his personal behavior – at least to the extent I could observe it – he was an excellent role model.”
“Less than two weeks after inaugural, at the end of his weekly meeting with Mullen and me, the president asked me to remain behind for a private conversation: … He concluded with what I thought was a very insightful observation twelve days into his presidency: ‘What I know concerns me. What I don’t know concerns me even more What people aren’t telling me worries me the most.’ It takes many officials in Washington years to figure that out; some never do.’ ”
Gates describes himself as a conservative Republican.
