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
Iran is isolating itself from the rest of the world.
I think the primary message to the world is that the United States is going to remain the strongest military power in the world.
You know, as director of the CIA, I got an awful lot of intelligence about all the horrible things that could go on across the world.
Obama really does recognize the threats that are out there; I think he understands the world. He understands the role of America in that troubled world.
The United States has to be a leader in the world, because the problem is: If we are not leading, nobody else will.
When you're smaller and leaner, you're not going to have that large a presence throughout the world.
It seemed to me there was an opportunity to bring new life into the White House. You can't operate on a 24-7 clock and not lose energy. I'm not saying replace Card, but bring in some new people. He (Bush) is a loyal guy, likes his comfort zone and doesn't like to make changes. But it doesn't give the president any new ideas.
The public does not translate the deficit into something that really bites them. We are going to have to get public support for action on the deficit.
You have to have a good relationship with the president, but you also have to be a tough SOB to get things done. And that means not only being tough with the staff, but, occasionally, tough with the president.
disciples of balanced budgets. ... And at some point, they'll be proven right.
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,
The United States was attacked on 9/11/12, and we know who attacked us.
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.
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,