President Obama’s first Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, was also the Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush.  When Obama came into office he selected a cabinet filled with appointments who could have been nominated by virtually any Republican President.  However, Obama could not even bring himself to select a Democrat to oversee the Department of Defense.  Instead, he simply retained Bush’s Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.   Now, President Obama appears ready to once again select a Republican to head the Department of Defense.