Agharna blog

Psst: Did you hear who may replace Bob Gates?

He's managed things before and has done a good job at CIA." Panetta, if nominated and confirmed, would also be the first Democrat to hold the position since Bill Perry in 1997.

"From the beginning, Panetta had enormous credibility with the White House," said a former senior U.S. official who helped advise the Obama campaign. Noting that Panetta also served as White House chief of staff and head of the Office of Management and Budget, the former official said Panetta has a "terrific record in Congress and did an extraordinary job from the moment he was appointed [as CIA Director] in developing the confidence of the Agency."

Referencing Panetta's fierce public defense of CIA personnel--including in fights early in Obama's term with then House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.), who claimed she was not briefed on CIA waterboarding -- he "showed he was prepared to stand up for them in serious ways while working quietly internally to clean up a lot of the messes in the agency that existed from the previous administration," the former senior U.S. official said. "He redeveloped [the CIA's] credibility, both within the U.S. government as well as with foreign governments."

Panetta also successfully battled Obama's first director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, the former official noted, to protect "traditional Agency funding and authorities," including on the decision of who--CIA director or DNI--gets to pick the top U.S. intelligence official posted in countries around the world. "Panetta is one of the smartest people in Washington," the former official continued. "He will be able to work with them and work them."

Indeed, the main drawback to nominating Panetta for the job, according to this source, is it opens up the can of worms of who should replace him as CIA director.

On that question, the rumors are hazier. One name that's been suggested is former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), currently the chairman of Obama's President Intelligence Advisory Board, who, said the former senior official, "knows Obama quite well." As a moderate Republican, Hagel may also "help with bipartisanship," the former official said.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the personnel rumors. Gates' spokesman also did not respond to a query.

(Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and CIA Director Leon Panetta, right, walk into the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)