Here Fred Kaplan makes the case for the appointment in Slate.
Earlier today, Elana Schor got an impromptu interview with Sen. Feinstein who seemed to soften her initial coolness toward the appointment and suggested she might be more receptive if Obama kept on the CIA’s current #2 guy Stephen Kappes in his current role. And this late piece in the Times quotes unnamed transition officials saying that Pres-Elect Obama does intend to do that. So presumably everybody has enough wiggle room here to avoid any sort of big fight.
There are a lot of fairly intricate and byzantine arguments about whether or not this is a good choice. But the people who I’d want to see supporting the nomination do seem to support it. And as I said last night the nature of the opposition, even if it seems to be diminishing, makes me more inclined to support the choice.
