Odds of Gates staying under Obama rise if Clinton at State (Bloomberg)

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates may

be closer to being tapped for extended duty by Barack Obama

because of the near certainty a Democrat -- possibly Hillary

Clinton -- will be named secretary of state and Gates's

willingness to accept a new team around him, according to

Democratic and Republican experts.

It isn't certain that President-elect Obama will ask Gates

to remain or that he would accept if asked. Still, a bipartisan

group says Gates would provide stability at the Pentagon as the

new administration inherits wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and

confronts the global credit crisis.

``It would be a very powerful signal of bipartisanship and

continuity,'' said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Georgia

Republican who sits on a board that advises Gates on policy

issues and favors his being kept on under Obama.

Several Democrats have spoken favorably of keeping Gates,

65, who was appointed two years ago by President George W. Bush.

They include Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, House

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode

Island.

Reed, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said in an

interview that Gates has ``done an extraordinary job.''

``I would hope that in some capacity he could continue to

serve,'' he said.

The chairman of the committee, Michigan Democrat Carl

Levin, believes Gates ``has done a good job'' as secretary and

is ``deserving of consideration'' for the Obama administration,

said Levin spokeswoman Tara Andringa late yesterday.

Republican in Cabinet

Obama told the CBS News program ``60 Minutes'' in an

interview aired last night that he plans to name a Republican to

his Cabinet.

One potential obstacle to retaining Gates appears to be

waning as Clinton, a New York senator, has emerged as the top

candidate for secretary of state.

Earlier, two Republican senators close to Obama -- Richard

Lugar of Indiana and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska -- were among the

candidates to run the State Department. Choosing one of them

would likely have scotched a Gates reappointment because Obama,

a Democrat, would avoid naming Republicans to the two top

national-security positions.

Obama and Clinton aides are trying to work out details of

how she could meet Obama's rigorous financial-disclosure

requirements for appointees, given the extensive business and

philanthropic interests of her husband, former President Bill

Clinton. Those include the Clinton Global Initiative, which won

$8 billion in pledges at a September conference for worldwide

projects to improve the living conditions of about 158 million

people through health care, education and microloans.

Closer to Agreement

During the weekend, people close to Obama and to Clinton

reported progress in working out this arrangement.

If an agreement can't be reached, Obama is likely to turn

to another Democrat, with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson

and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts at the top of the list,

according to a top transition official.

The question of whether Gates would want to keep most of

his team of appointees has been raised as a potential obstacle

by some critics of the departing Bush administration, such as

Lawrence Korb, who served as assistant secretary of defense

during the 1980s.

The issue may be more apparent than real, according to

Gingrich, retired Army General Barry McCaffrey and former

Pentagon official Anthony Cordesman.

Advisers Issue

McCaffrey and Cordesman noted that Gates inherited from his

predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, many of the people now in senior

policy and management posts.

``When he came in, he basically didn't bring anyone, so I

don't think he'd have a problem doing that again,'' McCaffrey

said in an interview. ``Gates has demonstrated that he can work

with the team you issue him.''

Cordesman, who served as director of intelligence

assessment at the Pentagon, said Gates is likely to be more

concerned with policy than personnel.

``Gates is a professional, not a partisan political

figure,'' said Cordesman, now an analyst at Washington's Center

for Strategic and International Studies. ``He's worked through

transitions and with different administrations.''

Cordesman said some current appointees, such as

Undersecretary for Policy Eric Edelman, have made it known they

are leaving when the new administration takes office. Pentagon

press secretary Geoff Morrell said Edelman, like all political

appointees, is planning to hand in his resignation. Edelman is

close to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Iraq Withdrawal

Gingrich said the one issue that might prevent Gates from

continuing would be Iraq. If Obama is determined to stick to his

campaign position of withdrawing all U.S. combat forces within

16 months, that would be a problem, because Gates and the senior

uniformed military officers oppose a strict timetable, Gingrich

said.

The Iraqi government negotiated an accord with the Bush

administration that allows U.S. forces to stay until 2011.

``They would have to sit down and hammer it out, but they

are both serious, professional people,'' said Gingrich, speaking

of Obama and Gates. ``If President-elect Obama would like it to

happen, I think it can be worked out.''

Aides to both Gates and Obama have kept alive the prospect

that Gates may remain, saying both men are open to it. Gates

hasn't commented since Obama was elected on Nov. 4.

``I have nothing new to say on that subject,'' he said at a

Nov. 12 news conference.

Since becoming secretary, Gates has rebuilt relationships

with members of Congress and uniformed officers that frayed

under Rumsfeld.

Management of Pentagon

Gates's support among lawmakers of both parties, as well as

his steady management of the sprawling department, would make

him attractive to Obama, says Thomas Wilkerson, a former Marine

major general and Pentagon official.

``He's managing a situation of the nation at war on two

fronts with threats on other fronts, and he's managing it better

than it's ever been managed during the current president's

tenure,'' said Wilkerson, who served as an aide to the Joint

Chiefs of Staff. ``He's righted the department.''

Gates aside, a certain degree of continuity is already

guaranteed because top uniformed officials such as Joint Chiefs

Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen and Central Command head General

David Petraeus will remain in their posts, Cordesman said.

To contact the reporter on this story:

Ken Fireman in Washington at

kfireman1@bloomberg.net ;

Hans Nichols in Washington at

hnichols2@bloomberg.net

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