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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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6

Pragmatic Style Makes Gates White House Heavyweight

Defense secretary helps dismantle missile shield program he backed under Bush

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(Newser) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates has bridged the gap between the Bush and Obama administrations and become a major player in reshaping national security policy in the process, officials tell the New York Times. His pragmatic style—as seen in his decision to ditch the missile defense system he signed off on under President Bush—has helped him become one of President Obama's most trusted advisers, aides say.

Gates—nicknamed "The Godfather" by Pentagon officials—still has the respect of many Republicans and has helped shield the Obama administration from attacks on its national security positions. Gates now finds himself caught between hawks and doves much as he was during the Bush administration, and is expected to play a vital role in the looming decision on whether or not to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates meets with reporters at the Pentagon last week.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates meets with reporters at the Pentagon last week.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright, gestures during a briefing at the Pentagon last month.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. James Cartwright, gestures during a briefing at the Pentagon last month.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Barack Obama, with Robert Gates at his side, makes remarks to the media after holding his first Cabinet meeting earlier this year.
President Barack Obama, with Robert Gates at his side, makes remarks to the media after holding his first Cabinet meeting earlier this year.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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The president values what Secretary Gates says—and not just values, he knows what he brings to the table is 30 years of experience in Democratic and Republican administrations. - White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel

For us in the Bush administration, he’s got a lot of money in the bank because of Iraq and the surge.
- Peter H. Wehner, a White House strategic adviser during the Bush administration

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6 comments
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Deebles
Sep 22, 09 1:51 AM CDT
Pragmatist--neither right nor left but interested in making things work. Doesn't need to be right, just wants the country to survive. This is my definition of pragmatist--my husband is a novelist and goes to many conferences. Once this woman called me and said that she was pregnant by him. And I said, "Oh my God, yeah, cause I can't do that but we will happily pay you to have partial custody". Well, never heard from her again, and I was a bit bummed. Later, my husband said he had never even heard of her. But, a pragmatist doesn't care about the ins or outs--only the result. I think that Gates is one of Obama's best appointments and I've read every Bramford book about NSA and he has nary a bad word to say about Robert. The other Gates--not so much. Reply
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freethemall
Sep 22, 09 2:38 AM CDT
And also a good appointment by GWB, I'm sure you would agree,
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dontlikeyou
Sep 22, 09 10:55 AM CDT
pragmatic style = sucking up. That's what the article really means. Under GWB, Gates thought the missile defense shield was great. Now, under Obama, he thinks it was over rated. COme on, Gates, everyone who is not a liberal (that's about 90% of Americans) knows you are a brown nose, ladder climber. We can't trust the man.
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IndependentThinker
Sep 22, 09 11:18 AM CDT
God I love how you make outragous clames. You really think that 90% of the people out there even have an opinion about this guy? And you think that only 10% of the county is liberals, man you live in a fucked up version of reality.
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freethemall
Sep 22, 09 2:35 AM CDT
IMHO, The decision to replace Donald Rumsfeld with Robert gates was a good one by George W. Bush. The decision to retain him was a good one by Barack H. Obama. Reply
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