Gates Compares Obama to Bush

Defense Secretary Robert Gates took to NBC's Meet the Press today to discuss the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq, scheduled to be complete by August 2010. Gates is the only cabinet member to have served under both Obama and Bush. Asked by moderator David Gregory on the difference between the two leaders, Gates at first laughed, then sat for a moment in silence. His response: Obama "is somewhat more analytical.... He makes sure he hears from everybody in the room on an issue—and if they don't speak up, he calls on 'em." Though President Bush "was interested in hearing different points of views, but didn't go out of his way to make sure that everybody spoke if they hadn't spoken up before." In other words, Obama is a friendly elementary school teacher, whereas Bush was more like high school shop class.