The Financial Times is reporting that Barack Obama is keen to have Robert Gates stay on as defense secretary. The paper says the two are currently negotiating their differences, but then that’s the whole point: Obama wants people who disagree with him in his Cabinet.

All the same, keeping George W. Bush’s defense secretary hardly supports the notion of change.

A note on Cabinet buzz: We’ve been passing along rumors of appointments because we think debate over such choices is important, but we recognize with growing frustration that every news outlet seems to have its own anonymous sources and it’s easy to get carried away.

Financial Times via Political Wire:

President-elect Barack Obama and Robert Gates are negotiating terms under which the defence secretary would remain as Pentagon chief in his administration, the Financial Times has learned.

Mr Obama, through an intermediary, has approached Mr Gates, who has served as defence secretary under President George W. Bush since 2006, about accepting the position, which would place a respected Republican appointee in his cabinet.

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#abraham lincoln#administration#barack obama#cabinet#dod#george w bush#iraq#pentagon#politics#robert gates#secretary of defense#war