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Our Hippie Secdef

For the past few years, the bumper sticker that seemed to grace the majority of Priuses in my crunchy Boston neighborhood is one that simply reads 01.20.09, a reference to Bush's last day in office. Now I see that our current Secretary of Defense would fit right in in Jamaica Plain. From the Wall Street Journal article reporting that Obama's leaning toward keeping Robert Gates at the Pentagon:

Several aides to Mr. Gates said that the defense chief often talks publicly about leaving the Pentagon in January and returning to his remote lakeside home in Washington state. They also noted that Mr. Gates carries around an electronic keychain whose display shows the number of days until the end of the Bush administration.

There is this weird Washington kabuki, in which a person who wants a cabinet post must feign indifference. Which makes you wonder if John Kerry is being too eager for his own good.

--Jason Zengerle