Regarding the meme that 'outsiders' don't do well as CIA head ........

[Stinky The Clown]

..... Porter Goss was no outsider.

Among other things, he was a spy for about 10 years. Cloak and dagger ..... black cape ..... Boris and Natasha type.

Panetta, in the 'outsider' department, is actually that.

[FSogol]

1. Yeah, I call bullshit on that meme

After Gitmo, CIA torture ship, domestic spying, renditions, and gawd knows what else, I'm glad an intelligence outside is coming in to clean up the Bush mess. Good choice, Obama.

[hedgehog]

2. An outsider is needed, but the outsider has to be able to find out what is going on behind the

scenes. It's too easy for the CIA to keep going its own merry way if a couple of congressmen slip it some extra funding.

[Zen Democrat]

3. This is a perfect situation to bring out the new book "Family of Secrets" ...

I'm hearing this stuff about Panetta's lack of intelligence experience, but no one I've heard yet in the media has mentioned GHWBush -- and FOS makes a clear case for his being a CIA operative, and a certified Player, for many years in advance of his appointment as Director by Gerald Ford, and without any concern for his seeming lack of experience in 1976, during the Cold War. The CIA ended up naming their building after the guy. Somehow in a discussion of intelligence experience an airing of the truth about Poppy should emerge -- the timing is beautiful.