Secretary Gates: “I Threw The Clock Away”

Seems Secretary of Defense Robert Gates kept a "countdown clock" in his office, marking time until the Bush Administration’s last days, and — or so he believed — his own last days at the Pentagon. Well, in a wide-ranging and very interesting briefing this afternoon, Gates tells us he "threw the clock away" once it became clear that the President-elect wanted him to stay on. "When a president asks me to serve…there is no way I can say no," Gates adds. As for becoming the first-ever Pentagon chief to stay on in a new administration since the post was created, Gates is clear: he didn’t seek the extension, and in fact he considers himself a Republican. But he also says Mr. Obama made clear that he wanted to include a broad range of views in his cabinet, and that there were "no negotiations" with Obama about specific policies and positions.