All hail Hamre?

I hear, second hand from the White House, that former deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre is the leading candidate to succeed Gates as secretary of defense next summer. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever heard talk about the politics of defense spending, so he may be just what President Barack Obama wants to trim defense spending.

If Hamre blows up on the launching pad, former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig is also under consideration.