Portside

'Even the sometimes salacious excerpts from the former defense secretary Robert Gates’s soon-to-be-released book, in which he criticizes the president, the vice president and Hillary Clinton, are not wholly negative for the White House. On one level it’s a glimpse of what happens when a “Team of Rivals” becomes of nest of vipers. On the other hand, painting the president as a man who is constantly questioning military commitment, always looking for a way out, and distrustful of the military brass doesn’t sound so negative to many of the president’s supporters. It sounds like the kind of leader they wanted.'