Panetta a Delicious Pick for CIA Chief

If only Barack Obama had nominated pancetta to head the CIA. The round, unsmoked Italian bacon would be an easy choice to defend, second only to a nice prosciutto.

Leon Panetta, the former congressman and Clinton White House Chief of Staff, is a somewhat tougher sell. Sure, many will cite his complete lack of intelligence experience as a reason to oppose the appointment.

The problem here is that many candidates within the intelligence establishment could run into the same sort of resistance that scuttled Obama's original choice, John Brennan. He faced stiff opposition due to his complicity with the Bush administration's controversial interrogation policies. After 8 years, it would be hard for Obama to find someone who hadn't been touch by that.

Panetta, on the other hand, has decades of experience in Washington, and could be seen as a firewall against the kinds of abuses that occurred during the Bush era. As a former White House Chief of Staff, he does have extensive experience in the use of intelligence, having attended daily intel briefings in that capacity.

He is also known for his managerial skill, a very important quality in the new world of hydra-headed intelligence agencies. While you definitely want pros gathering the intel, you need a good manager to make sure it gets shared and distributed properly.

Like pancetta, Leon Panetta will be a welcome ingredient to the new administration.

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