I don't get it. Another Clintonite? And one with limited intelligence experience? I would have thought that what the CIA needed was someone from within with the integrity and foresight to run the agency as it should be run. Some one who understands the scope of the job and the limits that should be imposed on it for the sake of abiding by the law. There must be some serious career types who resigned, as mentioned in a previous thread, in protest of the Bush administration policies, who would be happy to return and get things right.

Then again, to give Obama the benifit of the doubt, perhaps what the agency needs is someone who can manage effectively, getting the right people to work together for the common good, disallow any law breaking, gettint to the bottom of past misdeeds, read torture, and more importantly, making sure the President gets the straight talk he needs to get in a time of crisis. Panetta doesn't have his career or legacy wrapped up in the intell comunnity to worry about, unlike Tenet.

I must resist hammering the new administration until they are actually in. But, man, It can't happen soon enough. (the swearing in, not the hammering)

I can't stand it....the "changes" keep coming, hot & heavy.

Now BHO picks not only another Clintonite, but a poltical scumbag for the head of the CIA!! Panetta can't spell C I A. He's just anothet high-end scumbag lawyer.

From the looks of the cabinet picks so far, you'd think Hillary won the damn election.

We're screwed!!

I find it outrageously funny that people are bitching about the appointment of someone who has a proven record of competence and integrity, not to mention successful management experience.

Look at what incompetence and stupidity have gained us over the past eight years.

What's wrong with a bit of integrity, honesty, and competence for a change?

Leon Panetta can't possibly do any worse than what the entire Bush administration has wrought upon American society.

I guess one man's "high-end scumbag lawyer" is another man's very successful, honest, and effective public servant.

Go figure!