Joe KLEIN in the new Time magazine – 'Obama says he wants to hire a Team of Rivals for his Cabinet. He should start by keeping Robert Gates': 'Barack Obama has never been shy about comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln. ... Obama has said he admires Doris Kearns Goodwin's wonderful Lincoln biography, 'Team of Rivals.' 'He talks about it all the time,' says a top aide. He is particularly intrigued by the notion that Lincoln assembled all the Republicans who had run against him for President in his war Cabinet, some of whom disagreed with him vehemently and persistently. 'The lesson is to not let your ego or grudges get in the way of hiring absolutely the best people,' Obama told me. 'I don't think the American people are fundamentally ideological. They're pragmatic ... and so I have an interest in casting a wide net, seeking out people with a wide range of expertise, including Republicans,' for the highest positions in his government. ... 'I don't want to have people who just agree with me,' he said. 'I want people who are continually pushing me out of my comfort zone.'
'Obama said he'd be particularly interested in having high-ranking Republicans advising him on defense and national security. 'I really admire the way the elder Bush negotiated the end of the cold war-with discipline, tough diplomacy and restraint ... and I'd be very interested in having those sorts of Republicans in my Administration, especially people who can expedite a responsible and orderly conclusion to the Iraq war-and who know how to keep the hammer down on al-Qaeda.' When I asked him specifically if he would want to retain Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, Obama said, 'I'm not going to let you pin me down ... but I'd certainly be interested in the sort of people who served in the first Bush Administration.' Gates was George H.W. Bush's CIA director-and he has been a superb Secretary of Defense ... Associates say Gates might stay if he believed the security of the troops was at stake.'