Gates' Inside View
Day 41
March 1, 2009
"He makes sure he hears from everybody in the room on an issue — and if they don't speak up, he calls on 'em."
—Robert Gates, Defense Secretary, on NBC's Meet the Press, discussing the differences between former President George W. Bush and President Obama
The one Cabinet holdover from the Bush Administration offers some insight into the two Presidents' leadership styles while gracing the Sunday talk circuit. Gates — who has watched two war Presidents make monumental decisions about Iraq and Afghanistan — says Obama is more "analytical" than his predecessor and even jokes, when asked about their differences, "That sounds like the subject of a good book."
Meanwhile, Obama surrogates use their time on the Sunday shows to respond to conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh's fiery remarks a day earlier, with White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel branding him the "intellectual force" behind the GOP.