Former Clinton chief of staff and California Congressman Leon Panetta is headed back to Washington, this time to head up the CIA.
What Panetta lacks in intelliegnce experience is made up for in his skills as an effective manager.
Panetta was elected to the House in 1977, serving California’s 16th (now 17th) Congressional District until Clinton appointed him to head the Office of Budget and Management in 1993. He was Bill Clinton’s chief of staff from 1994 to 1997.
Panetta being named Spy Chief is one of the worst appointments (actually, the only bad one I can think of) Obama could have made. The spy racket is tough enough for those who have been around. It’s a good ol’ boy racket for a reason: no one trusts unknowns. There are no novice spymasters. Panetta may be a good manager, but so is my local McDonalds night manager. That doesn’t mean I want him as spy chief either. Panetta has a lot of good qualities I admire and he would be a great assett….. elsewhere in the administration.