Are The Cogs Are Coming Into Place?

Former spy Robert Baer on the Panetta pick:

Leading Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee Jay Rockefeller and Dianne Feinstein have already criticized the choice of Panetta, claiming the CIA needs to be led by an experienced intelligence professional. But right now political clout, and the ability to be a strong advocate for the CIA, far outweighs the virtues of being a professional spy, someone who knows the difference between a "live drop" and a "dead drop." A professional from the ranks would be eaten up by Hillary Clinton at State or Bob Gates at Defense. Or end up like Bill Clinton's CIA Director Jim Woolsey, shut out of the White House, ignored and irrelevant.

If this is what the Obama team is thinking (and we don't know this) it strikes me as further evidence of Obama's interest in forming a balanced executive branch where all its parts actually work together and where each department will get its voice heard.