Not everyone is thrilled with Barack Obama's reported second choice for the position of CIA director. But while Leon Panetta's intelligence credentials appear thin, his resume in government is top-notch: He represented California's 16th District for eight terms in Congress and served as House Budget chairman, Office of Management and Budget director and chief of staff to President Clinton.
Though Panetta has kept a relatively low profile since leaving government, National Journal has profiled him extensively over the years -- in his days as a congressional budget hawk, during his tenure at OMB, during the tumultuous years when he served as White House chief of staff, and finally, after he had left the administration and was free to comment on the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The picture that emerges is that of an intelligent, hard-driving but good-natured public servant respected on both sides of the aisle -- variously described as "Mr. Budget," a "principled pragmatist," a "take-charge conductor" and "a bulldog."
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