GATES RILES THE RIGHT - AT 10:11 P.M. ET:  The great GOP hope in the Obama administration, Defense Secretary Bob Gates, isn't winning too much applause from his old cheering section.  From the Washington Times:

Some conservatives who welcomed President Obama's decision to keep Robert M. Gates as defense secretary are already having second thoughts.

Decisions in the first 100 days of the new administration regarding future weapons systems have dismayed members of the Air Force fighter community and others who had considered the former CIA chief one of their own.

Baker Springs, a budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, described Mr. Gates' first months under Mr. Obama as "not very good" and a reversion to policies that weakened U.S. defenses.

COMMENT:  Gates is a product of the Bush 41 administration, although he served Bush 43 at Defense.  He is, by most accounts, a very decent man and a capable executive.  Whether he has the stomach to stand up for a stronger defense is another matter altogether.  Obama clearly didn't pick him because he thought Gates would carry the Bush 43 flag.  This is not a hawkish administration, and Gates seems to be going with the flow.  I hope, however, that he'd have the guts to resign in protest if budget cuts and force compromises are carried too far.  I wonder.

May 10, 2009