Oh and another thing: if Obama wins the election, who's to say that Gates would even want to stay on? I mean, he's a Republican for a reason. I'm sure we'd all like to believe that he is a selfless civil servant, but for the most part folks are not frequently keen to cross the aisle and serve the other side -- it just complicates their future, as it tends to strand them in a political no man's land, being not particularly trusted by either side.

Cheers,
Jill