My position has consistently been that I believe the nation is best-served by having a CIA director who was in no way involved in the agency's recent practice of illegal wiretapping and torture in charge at this time.

damned if you do...

panetta's would be a much needed out of the box choice the cia desperately needs to break away from its dark past.

Let's get real   !!!   We hav enough top spies.
What we need is someone to handle the X & O 's.
That is where Panetta's ADMIN expertise comes in.  
        DUH   !!!!

If Obama picks someone with experience he will be critized because that person has experience in an organization that has routinely done allegedly illegal acts. If he picks someone outside then he is critized because he has no experience. This is a no win pick for Obama.

Yo folks...he got the job because he doesn't own a gun!

Change?

And what makes her so special.  Obviously, the PE didn't choose her candiate for the position.  Go Obama, it is about time someone shakes up that place.  If experience means you do a good job, then what the hell happened to the last eight years.  The world and the counrty is a mess.  Diane's decisions haven't been that great - I was getting to think she was a Bushy.  Panetta can handle the job.

Well, with the current Cabinet choices, it looks like we are being thrust back to the 1990's.  I thought change meant creativity and dynamics.  Instead we are seeing the creation of a "comfort zone" for PE Obama.  The world is not the same as it was then.  Some change; it's a joke!  I think they need to re-evaluate the choices for Intelligence and for Homeland Security.  Where are Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwartzkoff(sp?)and Boomer?  They need to be at those reins respectively, not the current dismal choices.  

As long as the no. 2 CIA guy is a professional, we can live with a figurehead as chief.  It's been that way before.

Perfect.  Qualifications?  I think he can see the Russion Tea Room from his private dining table?!?  So far staffing of this administration is like the Clinton Special Olympics - Everyone gets a medal and a hug!  Makes you feel good all over.

Hey you republicans, how about your close friend, b. medoff?

"I can't believe that MSNBC would have such a shocking disrepectful article on Tim Kaine where he is called "milquetoast little nothing". Check it out and you too can be flabbergasted"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28508580

He is kind of a boob.  Call 'em like you see 'em.

And reading the intelligence reports that came across Clinton's desk isn't a qualification.  The Director of the CIA has to determine which intelligence is actionable and what's not and then to make a decision as to what action to take.  I watch football on TV, that doesn't make me qualified to coach.

Feinstein lets Bush do whatever he wants for eight years, and now she wants to be an obstacle for anything Obama wants to do?

Go away, Feinstein, your time is up.  Or go join the Lieberman Party of Traitors.

Dianne Feinstein, a very strong supporter of Hillary Clinton, is not interested in ending the primary wars. What a shame, but not unexpected considering her poor judgment on intelligence and other matters.

You know some you have forgoten that this country is still in a hell of a mess, and all you can say is oh I guess his transistion team this and that.

Why would you think he knew about Richardson, you old gop fart, what your real issue is you voted the biggest dumb A@#$ in history to the Presidency and he screwed up BIG TIME.

This is the time to put the "BS" aside, if ya can't do that then go sit in a corner and shut your mouth.  

LEON PANATTA IS A GOOD AND HONEST MAN. THIS I BELIEVE IS A PREREQUISTE FOR A OVERSEER OF OUR INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. FOT THOSE THAT DISAGREE I ONLY POINT TO THE RECENT PAST LEADERS OF OUR CIA.;BARACH IS A VERY INTELLIGENT MAN. LET HIM LEAD AS WE ELECTED HIM T0O DO.

Looks like Feinstein needs to get over herself.  And come on Judith, your republician friends saying Obama was going to ruin this country?  Where have you people been for eight years?  George W. has put this country at more risk than I've ever seen in my 62 years including the years I proudly wore the uniform and fought in a war.  He's the bad news Judith, I'm a republician.  But even I can see the damage W has done to my country.  

We should be concerned with what Diane Feinstein thinks? She has had a bad voting record.

What does Feinsteinand Rockefeller KNOW anyway.  SHE and HE SAT BY for 8 years while GW Bush brought our NATION DOWN A CLIFF and said and did VIRTUALLY NOTHING.  Experience?!?!?,  Tenent, and the Current AG plus a HOST of experienced fellows has brought our country and our reputation to the LOWEST LEVEL possible.  They are part of and have been a sad STORY for more than the history books.  IF these two wanted to BE PRESIDENT they should have run.

Leon Panetta's last public service position was as a famously competent and respected COS for Bill Clinton; he therefore received intelligence briefings daily as well as consulted with the president on these matters.  There is no cronyism here; probably just a desire for a fresh start.  Dianne Feinstein, on the other hand has done a lot of good things but has more often than not come out on the wrong side of national security issues and displays a disturbing overwillingness to place our troops in harm's way.  She has even admitted that she believed that the evidence of WMD's in Iraq was weak, but she voted in favor of giving carte-blanche to BushCo anyway.  She is a DINO from the Cold War era who needs to get out of the WayBack Machine or retire early.

Brad must have his head in his own lap!!
Having WILLIAM AYRES INSTEAD of  George Bush in the WHITE HOUSE for 2 terms would have been a damn sight better than letting the GW Republicreep HERO Daddy's boy who lead our nation into the gutter.  

Bill Bowen must be the SPAWN of the
CLOWN that has been in office for 8 years that WILL GO DOWN as being the WORST PRESIDENT of ALL TIME.

P.S. If you voted for McCain, you also voted for Sarah Palin for Vice President; therefore, any criticisms you wish to levy against Obama in this matter have no credibility whatsoever.

Feinstein is so incompetent it would be easy to forget to tell her anything.

OB hasn't even taken office and democratic corruption is rampant, Rahm Emanuel and his chief of state( they apparently fell off the face of the earth) the moron Franken in Minn.,all the other election seats that drug on until the democrats gained the illegal votes they neede to win, democratic secrataries of states re-opening the polls so absentee ballots could be turned in on election day, voter fraud, ACORN, Obamas friends and look into who benfited from the Madoff hedge fund scandal and you will find a who's who of democrats, Barney Frank (who has been chosen to lead the investigation), Chuckie Shumer, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Rahm Emmanuel, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, George Soros who owns the democratic party and the list goes on and on, then their is Richardson and now pin head Pinetta. You uneducated democrats and unethical liberals who voted for this empty suit and his appointment of washington and Clinton insiders got what you wanted. CHANGE from a FREE DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY to a  corrupt government run socialist country.      

"Our Country has been safe from attack since 911" Has it now? Has anybody besides me noticed that our foes have over 100 thousand "targets" plus at their very doorsteps and so don't need to, say ,fly over here from over there to kill Americans?

I am sure this post will not make the cut, as it is probably too late - and "First Read" does not like to see someone quote another source. However, I will try....
The main reason Panetta is a perfect choice is his statement from last year (see below). Otherwise - it is amazing to see how everybody wants to jump on and attack Obama. Human conditioning is not a pretty thing.
Panetta last year:
According to the latest polls, two-thirds of the American public believes that torturing suspected terrorists to gain important information is justified in some circumstances. How did we transform from champions of human dignity and individual rights into a nation of armchair torturers? One word: fear.

Fear is blinding, hateful, and vengeful. It makes the end justify the means. And why not? If torture can stop the next terrorist attack, the next suicide bomber, then what's wrong with a little waterboarding or electric shock?

The simple answer is the rule of law. Our Constitution defines the rules that guide our nation. It was drafted by those who looked around the world of the eighteenth century and saw persecution, torture, and other crimes against humanity and believed that America could be better than that. This new nation would recognize that every individual has an inherent right to personal dignity, to justice, to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.

We have preached these values to the world. We have made clear that there are certain lines Americans will not cross because we respect the dignity of every human being. That pledge was written into the oath of office given to every president, "to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution." It's what is supposed to make our leaders different from every tyrant, dictator, or despot. We are sworn to govern by the rule of law, not by brute force.

We cannot simply suspend these beliefs in the name of national security. Those who support torture may believe that we can abuse captives in certain select circumstances and still be true to our values. But that is a false compromise. We either believe in the dignity of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, or we don't. There is no middle ground.

We cannot and we must not use torture under any circumstances. We are better than that.

Where's William Casey when we need him. He was a great CIA Director with experience. So what if he served the president and went around the constitution and congress. Panetta will do fine without CIA experience.

Sometimes the only way to make bold changes involves upsetting the status quo.  Those on Capitol hill who are upset tonight did NOT stand up for American principles ('all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights') as we slid towards being a country that practices torture!  They did NOT deserve to have the final say IF ANY and Obama is showing us in this instance what it's like for a politician to follow through on his campaign promises.  Did he mean "Enough!" when he said it?  I believe he did and I am proud of his decisions.

If this were not such an important issue one could laugh -- there would be much more outrage if the Cleveland Browns or Denver Broncos were to name there next Head Football Coach as a guy from POP WARNER FOOTBALL -- they could issue a statement and say -- hey it's a break from the previous management and the guy has coached football before RIGHT ?????????? Heck why do we even need a CIA -- BHO is on the job and the world is just going to follow the CHANGE the magic man wants -- RIGHT ?????

I think Forest Gumps momma said it best "Life is like a box of chocolates, you just never know exactly what your going to get" or better yet --"Stupid is as Stupid does" BHO isn't the stupid one -- we Americans WE ARE THE STUPID ONES -- My friends pull up your boots, tighten your belts but don't hold your breath WE ARE IN TROUBLE !!!  BIG TROUBLE !!

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