Dr. Gates in, Mr. Rumsfeld out

Starting tomorrow, there will be a new sheriff in town at the Pentagon. Dr. Robert M. Gates is slated to be sworn in as the new Secretary of Defense, replacing the controversial and embattled Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Dr. Gates comes to the Pentagon with impressive credentials.?Although his recent experience has been in the halls of academia, as the President of Texas A&M University, Dr. Gates is certainly no stranger to the corridors of political power and intrigue either.

For example, Dr. Gates served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 to 1993.? According to his official biography, he is ?the only career officer in CIA?s history to rise from entry-level employee to director.?? He joined the CIA in 1966 and served nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional under six presidents.

Along the way, he spent nearly nine years at the White House National Security Council, serving four presidents of both political parties.

Dr. Gates has also written a memoir, ?From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider?s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War,? published in 1996.?A Kansas native, Dr. Gates earned his bachelor?s degree from the College of William and Mary, his master?s degree in history from Indiana University, and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown.

Clearly, Dr. Gates is moving from Texas, ?a whole other country,? to the Pentagon, a whole other universe.?His credentials, sterling by any measure, could serve him, President Bush, and our nation well as we search for new ways forward in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and in all the other trouble spots around the world that engage our interests.

However, Dr. Gates will be judged, and soon, not on his impeccable credentials for the position of Secretary of Defense, but on his demonstrated performance in the job.? After all, Donald Rumsfeld had very impressive credentials, too, including being both the youngest and the oldest Secretary of Defense in American history.

A former Navy pilot, he had also served as White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, U.S. Congressman, and as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies.? He was lionized by presidents, Congress, the media and the public ? before being castigated and cashiered from office over the war in Iraq.

Ironically, to me at least, Dr. Gates is leaving his post as the 22nd President of Texas A&M University to become the 22nd Secretary of Defense.?His unanimous approval by the Senate Armed Services Committee and his 95-2 approval by the full Senate signal a rare and refreshing display of bipartisanship in his favor.?Now it is up to him to show that he not only has the credentials for the job, but the savvy and will to do it well in these trying times.

One more thing: Dr. Gates will be the new sheriff at the Pentagon, but the High Sheriff is still President Bush.??The buck stops? with him, as it should in our system of representative democracy.? ‘

Thomas B. Vaughn is a professor at Motlow College and co-host of the radio show ?Viewpoints,? which airs on 91.3 FM.