Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panettais an American statesman, lawyer, and professor. He served in the Obama administration as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to 2011, and as Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013. A Democrat, Panetta was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993, served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993 to 1994, and as President Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997. He is...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth28 June 1938
CityMonterey, CA
CountryUnited States of America
The United States was attacked on 9/11/12, and we know who attacked us.
It is tough enough for the Secret Service to do its job without this. If I were still chief of staff, I would order the damned site (to) pull it down.
It's more a signal to the outside world. It's their way of saying they're paying attention.
As a result of the kind of partisan trench warfare that's going on in Washington, the special interests on both sides basically drive the agendas based on those issues that increase their membership, and that's what's going on here.
People start doing it by the numbers. They don't have that kind of excitement you had in the first term, dealing with issues, dealing with the country,
I've spent the last several hours in an appearance before the grand jury largely detailing the operations of the White House and the physical setting of the White House during the time in which I was chief of staff. I believe I've answered all of the questions that were asked of me. And I will not comment any further on my testimony,
You're talking about a real problem facing this country at the very moment when we're expecting something like 70 to 80 million baby boomers to retire and to add additional costs to Social Security and Medicare. We're headed towards a fiscal cliff,
You've got to sit down with all of the special-interest groups on your side before you announce that decision and walk them through it. You need to determine if they're going to support it.
You really ought to think twice before you appoint a staff member to a position like Supreme Court justice. You have to ask whether that person really has the experience you need to be a justice. Usually, it will make more sense to go outside the White House.
One of the things that has made Iraq such a tragedy is you've got the administration, which is kind of locked into its view; you've got Congress, which is scrambling all over the place; and politics, which has invaded this issue on all sides. The good thing here is we can stand back and assess this.
None of this is being paid for. At some point, all of that borrowing comes back to haunt you.
My conclusion is that at this late date, it's just not realistic to expect that I could put together an effective campaign,
On the Democratic side, it's an uphill battle for anyone who runs. I don't think it's a slam dunk at all. Schwarzenegger has huge name identity, and that counts for a lot.
I was at the White House at that time. We were concerned that when the president vetoed these things, he would bear responsibility for the shutdown. But Congress in the end became the vocal point for public anger. And that could be the case with this Congress as well.