This President doesn’t regularly meet with his Cabinet, he is surrounded by people lacking practical experience with much of anything and they think they know more than anyone else, even stupid Americans.
Bloomberg.com
The Vietnam veteran’s departure spotlights how one of Washington’s most powerful jobs — overseeing the world’s strongest military and a budget of more than $600 billion — has faded in the Obama era. Under Obama, the strict White House control often has left Hagel and other Cabinet members with limited authority and autonomy.
“The White House has really wanted to minimize the influence of the Pentagon on policy,” said Rosa Brooks, who was counselor to then-Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy during Obama’s first term.
Like his immediate predecessors at the Pentagon, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, Hagel chafed at the way a small cadre of Obama loyalists centralized power in the White House. When Obama backed off a threat to bomb Syria last year, he made the decision on a walk with his chief of staff, Denis McDonough. Hagel was informed of the decision later.
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