DAILY BEAST COLUMN: …Whether it was his age (his nickname in the Obama administration became Yoda) or that he was a remnant of the Bush administration, Gates writes that he initially felt somewhat out of place. When he was in meetings during the first half-year and staffers would hit the Bush team, Gates wondered, “Am I invisible?” He disapproved of their arguments that the Bush team had destroyed relations around the world, and writes that “discussions in the Situation Room allowed no room for discriminating analysis: Everything was awful, and Obama and his team had arrived just in time to save the day.”
He also was concerned about what he saw as too much of a focus on politics. During an early meeting about Afghanistan, he was disappointed that the president focused on how Democrats and Republicans in Congress would react, and that Vice President Joe Biden “was especially emphatic about the reaction of the Democratic ‘base’.” He described the White House as “running scared.”…
With almost all of his criticisms from the Bush administration focused on the political staff or members of the military talking to the press, Gates is particularly effusive when it comes to the 43rd president. When describing Bush’s decision to go for the surge in Iraq, Gates says he believes it was only one of three times in history where a president “risked reputation, public esteem, credibility, political ruin, and the judgment of history on a single decision he believed was the right thing for our country.” He clearly admired Bush never looking back on it or having second thoughts. In a section where he addresses his relationships with the prominent members of the Bush White House, Gates makes clear he viewed the president as a “mature leader” who was also intellectually strong and confident in his abilities… (more)
