'I very much enjoy working for' Obama, Gates says
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/09/27/art.bogates0927.gi.jpg caption="Secretary Gates said President Obama is 'very analytical' and 'delves very deeply' into issues."]
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was a prominent member of former President George W. Bush's Cabinet, told CNN that he is enjoying working for Bush's Democratic successor.
In an interview broadcast Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, Gates praised Obama’s approach to decision-making as the nation's commander-in-chief.
"He is very analytical," Gates told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. "He is very deliberate about the way he goes through things. He wants to understand everything. He delves very deeply into these issues."
Gates, who previously worked for 27 years in the CIA under six presidents, was the first defense secretary to be asked to remain in office by a newly-elected president when Obama kept him on.
The Pentagon chief was diplomatic when comparing Obama to other former occupants of the Oval Office.
"I'm not going to get into comparing the different presidents, Gates said. “I very much enjoy working for this one."
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Of course he likes working for this president-Obama's policies are virtually the same as Bush's. When are American working people going to wake up and realize that "lesser evil-ism"-i.e., voting for Democrats-is a political dead-end? When it's too late, of course 😉
Mr. Gates full of CLASS !!
I'm glad he's on our Team !! It's nice to see intellegent peopel that are truly dedicated to their causes for once
Great job Mr. President.......we are behind you 100%
obama is disgusting....when will people wake up...when our country is broke and nuked? is he really our friend?
It's because Obama knows absolutelu nothing about the military and Gates has free reign,
Please CNN.... What did you expect him to say about his BOSS?
Gates is smart. He knows there is a recession and if he bad mouths the communist and theif he will be out of a job!
You have proven yet again CNN you belong in the little leagues when it comes to reporting the news!
GOP 2010 2012
Wow! People here think Obama is the "chosen one"? What a frightening thought that people think the President of the US deserves that kind of loyalty... what does that make his supporters, his "following"? His "flock"? They even have school children singing songs to praise him... No President deserves to be placed on this big of a pedestal! For those who forgot their civics lessons from HS, the President works for US and he answers to US. Period!
And, not everyone who disagrees with this President is racist and I hugely resent that Liberals treat every criticism of Obama as a racial attack... that is censorship and it is VERY dangerous to our Republic if we begin to stifle criticism of our elected leaders because some fringe group has decided that the criticism is unjust and has a "how dare you criticize the Chosen One" mentality. I can disagree with Obama and that does automatically mean I hate him.
It must have been torture for Secretary Gates to have worked with a nit-wit like Bush, what a joy to work for an intelligent, thinking President like Obama.
As long as the GOP touts people such as Bush, Cheney, Mitch McConnell, Rush Limpbaugh, Charlie Crist, Sarah Palin and a myriad of others, what else can they hope for except laughter and failure? After all, we just came through eight stinking years of olies, deceit, failures, and crimes. Obama was not my choice for the job but he's got it, and now we need to remember that all the GOP offers is the same old rhetoric from people like Limpbaugh.
Wow!! If the whole world hated everything and everybody as much as GOPers, we'd be in a sad, sad state of affairs. Wait!!! We have been there for the several years... maybe we all could just buck up and wish Obama well. After all, most of us bucked up under Bush and lost our 401k plans, stock gains from the Clinton years, our standing the world, our federal budget that was essentially clean and clear, and thousands of kids were still alive.
Thanks to Bush, our kids have died and our economy went south in a hurry under his policies of robbing the poor to give to the rich. Obama has not done that to us - yet!!!
Don't kid yourself: ANY ONE would enjoy working for President Obama over the VILLIAGE IDIOT!
It would also seem that Gates REALLY wants to keep his job: sacrificing our brave children and spending America into bankruptcy…
Unfortunately, Gates is a WAR HAWK; nothing more and nothing less... I am very afraid that his advise – after almost 8 years in Afghanistan already – is only going to push President Obama into escalating the war there and that will last FOREVER!
To Mr. Gates, there is no problem that cannot be solved by throwing more money and sacrificing more of our brave children at it: Hey, it’s the American way!
You will note that Gates said both al Qaeda & the Taliban won a great victory by defeating a SUPER-POWER called Russia – mostly with the assistance of the USA – and that to defeat another SUPER-POWER called America, would simply give al Qaeda & the Taliban too much of a morale victory, by defeating (2) SUPER-POWERS. That, in essence, is why we are going to continue to feed both al Qaeda & the Taliban our brave children and all of our financial resources for decades to come.
Afghanistan is NOT a COUNTRY: it is a wild, wild, west area ruled by warlords, with a corrupt puppet government – supported and financed by the American taxpayer – that would be Karzai the incompetent. Every other nation NATO is on its way OUT!
President Obama: IF you send more troops and more finances into Afghanistan, then YOU OWN IT: AND YOU OWN IT FOREVER!
If Obama is so great, then how come Afganistan has gone to the devil in the 8 months he has been President. Our military leaders in Afganistan have bee crying out for help, but Mr. Almightly is turning a deaf ear, along with his Democrat controlled Congress. Sit back and watch as Mr. Almightly brings our troops home in defeat while the Talliban take over and slaughters everyone in their hapless Country.
Thank you for corroborating my vote, Mr. Gates, and thank you for your loyal service to our great country. I am proud of our President and you.
I am shaken by what obama is going to do to medicare!!!
Here in Canada, Pres. Obama is well respected, for his intelligence and genuine concern for the American people,..i can understand that not all Americans agree with his policies , ...what i can't understand , is the lack of respect and hateful sentiments being thrown at him, some of the stuff is downright treasonous,... have you no decency?
What all you idiots on the right don't realize is that you are saying more about yourselves than about President Obama.
All you need to know about how messed up Obama is on Afganistan is that he is asking Biden to come up with a new stragey so he can back away with sending in the addtional troops needed for success, as recomended by his had picked General. So when did Biden become a General? When did Biden grow a brain for that matter? This will be a total disaster.
Great post TRA, makes sense to me. Will the GOP ever see the light?
Is it any wonder why Gates would like working for our president? Obama's proven he is the polar opposite of Bush - intelligent, coherent, educated, thinks before he leaps, has proven that the American people come first - why wouldn't anyone think Obama is a good president?
Correct me if I am wrong. But Mr. Gates has said this in the past on a television interview. Why the rehash of the same questions and answers?
All you blind idealogues, consider that Obama has three high level Republicans in his cabinet. I bet you cannot name them. Tough problems, and America's got'em, require careful thought and a considerable amount of tolerance. I bet you know few people with either. It was good to see this fair minded Republican (Secretary Gates) speak candidly and coherently and intelligently about our military issues. Senator Coker from Tennessee today spoke in the same rational way. Now those two along with many others represent what the Republican party should be, a legitimate problem solving party with principles they believe in other than the principle of insurgency for the sake of power. Yea, I know, you hate Obama but how does that solve anything?
Personally I think the USA should be divided into two countries....the south for the right wing narrow minded destructive war mongering conservatives and the north for the liberal minded thinking people.
That might stop all the bickering, attacking and destructive attitudes that prevail today.
We miss you, Mr. Gates!!
Who in their right mind, wouldn't want to work for a President like our current one