Are we going back to square one by re-enlisting Gates as Defense Secretary ?

Bear! The economy is his first priority. He's gonna' keep Gates for a year just for stability until he can get this economic stimulus plan launched. It's not the War that's draining the economy. It's the war that drove up the deficit. When his economic plan is in place and headed in the right direction then he will appoint another Defense Secretary. Gates is very much aware that he will be working toward Obama's agenda and not the agenda of Bush. If he doesn't he can be let go any time. They have already started preparing for the deployment process in Iraq. Saw that on the morning news. Bush has left this country in a mess. If the economy collapses then we are screwed. And if you think it's bad now just wait 6 months. It will bottom out in about 6 months and then start to turn around according to the Economists that I'm listening to. Rome wasn't built in a day. George Bush has forced Obama to basically rebuild the entire economic and industrial sectors of this nation. Would you want that job? I bet McCain is so glad he lost.

What the heck does the economy have to do with Robert Gates?? You seem to be ever so slightly confused about the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Defense.

Don't you realize that the war in Iraq is going better then it has at any point since the beginning of combat operations. Gates is a monumental improvement over Donald Rumsfeld. This man has done the impossible of actually turning the situation in Iraq around. No more are we losing 100 brave boys a month, last month it was down to 3. The tactics are working in Iraq and to change it up at a point when everything is transitioning smoothly would be dumb. Thankfully our president elect knows this and realizes that the war in Iraq is finally under control for the first time in years. Obama being able to look past Gates as a Republican nomination is one of the reasons that I voted for the man, knowing that he really does want to bridge the partisan gap between the GOP and the Dems.

What does that have to do with Gates? You are asking a question, but then presenting irrelevant information to your question. It doesn't matter who they pick as Defense Secretary. Obama can still decide his own defense priorities. He's still the boss.

It is brilliant to keep Gates on as Defense, and have Obama people work as Undersecretaries to him to ensure the smoothest transition possible. There will be two fronts--keeping an eye on international affairs and esp. Iraq, and the domestic economic crisis.

When every idiot voted for Obama, they voted to go farther back than square one. Hey they voted for change right?

Stay off the drugs, because you make no sense at all.