Pages

12/5/14

Barack Obama's Diary: I choose a tough SecDef

Dear Diary: Joe Biden was pissed at the way I offloaded Chuck Hagel and he felt strongly that the next SecDef should be someone who will  push back hard when representing the Pentagon. Ashton Carter was the consensus choice. I had him  meet me in the Oval Office just before my formal announcement of his appointment. There was a tentative knock at the door. "Carter?"  I  inquired. "Sir" came the reply. "Come in," I  said. "Let's  begin as we'll continue. Get on your knees, crawl towards me and ask my permission before standing up."  He obliged without protest. A good sign for the future