What about Bob?

Eli Lake has an excellent backgrounder on the meaning of the nomination of Robert Gates to replace Secreatary Rumsfeld: “Rumsfled resignation bodes end of Bush docrtine.” Lake quotes Frank Gaffney observing that the Gates nomination represents “the beginning of the Baker regency.” Lake also quotes the acknowledgements Gates makes in his Cold War memoir:

In his 1996 memoir, “From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War,” which was published by Simon & Schuster, Mr. Gates thanks Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft, and Richard Armitage in the acknowledgements. The author expresses disappointment that both Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Bill Bradlee voted against confirming him as director of central intelligence. The book is mostly an account of the Cold War, which Mr. Gates called “a glorious crusade” against “a truly evil empire.”

He adds:

The book’s major surprise was its assessment of President Carter. “Carter’s record in dealing with the Soviet Union,” the book says, “was far more complex and successful than commonly believed at the time or since. Indeed, he was the most consistently

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