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Q: Should President-elect Obama keep Robert Gates on as Defense secretary at least for a while?

Democrats (81 votes)

Yes, keep Gates          70 percent
No, don't keep Gates     27 percent
Don't know (volunteered)  2 percent

Keep Gates

"There is no one on Obama's short list who will have a better sense of what is happening in our defense infrastructure -- the wars and otherwise--on day one."

"Yes, if Gates agrees with the president on a responsible timetable for withdrawal."

"It will give President-elect Obama much stronger credentials as he figures out how and when to exit from Iraq."

"Gates is a credible and respected secretary of Defense with support across the aisle."

"He has indicated he wants to have Republicans in his Cabinet: This would be a good spot as long as [Gates] goes along with what Obama wants to do in Iraq."

"Gates is acceptable. And it allows the new administration to focus efforts on other critical positions first. If they keep him on, it won't need to be for long."

"Keep him at least for a while in order to build bipartisan bridges on national security and see if progress can continue."

"On Iraq, we need a smooth, intelligent transition. Policy on stem cells or offshore drilling can be changed with the flip of a switch -- not so Iraq."

Don't keep Gates

"Fire his ass and the whole defense-intelligence crew. Talk about time for a change!"

"There are other ways to have a bipartisan Cabinet. Obama won the election, and should put his people in place."

"Continuity is important but leave that to the professional ranks."

"Put a Republican in the slot if you want to, but break all ties with the Bush cronies."

"Plenty of people like [Sen. Jack] Reed and [retiring Sen. Chuck] Hagel can provide transition. Need someone who will create more confidence in [Democratic] base."

"The American voters bought the idea of change. And we need new and fresh leaders to give this country the hope they were promised."

Don't know

"[Obama] needs to see the actual situation, then decide what's best."

Q: Should President-elect Obama keep Robert Gates on as Defense secretary at least for a while?

Republicans (78 votes)

Yes, keep Gates       79 percent
No, don't keep Gates  18 percent
Depends (volunteered)  3 percent

Keep Gates

"All agree he's extremely competent and loyal. And there would be no better way to ensure continuity at a time when Obama may wish to accelerate a shift of resources out of Iraq and into Afghanistan."

"It sends the right message to the country, but more important than that, to the rest of the world. A new start doesn't mean throwing out what's working."

"If he dumps Gates for a Democrat, there will be incredible political pressure to remove troops before the generals' recommendations. Keeping Gates in the short term allows him to appear 'post-partisan.' "

"He needs who he thinks is the best person, which appears to be Gates."

"Keeping Gates would set a centrist tone on national security."

"Gates and his 'smart power' philosophy have found an audience in the center that will help aid our national security efforts during what needs to be an extended transition at the Pentagon."

"Giving such a prominent post to a Republican makes his claim of bipartisan governing credible. And, by the way, Gates is really good at that job."

"Let's see if he is able to stand up to the anti-war Left in his party right away."

"Gives him some consistency and needed cover."

Don't keep Gates

"Obama needs his own mark on defense and foreign policy. And holdovers are almost always useless, or even mistakes."

"He should get his own team, not a player from the team he has been shooting at for two years."

"Every president needs their own team who he trusts to be loyal and execute the policies of the chief executive."

"If he's going to do things his way, he should do it with his people."

"Any vestige of the Bush administration will be a violation of faith with those that got him in the White House."

Depends

"Keep him if you want him to stay for the long haul. To only extend him will ensure he's ineffective and lacks the ability to carry out his job."

Q: Should President-elect Obama defer tackling comprehensive health care reform and/or energy independence in his first six months in office?

Democrats (81 votes)

Defer comprehensive health care reform  26 percent
Defer energy independence                5 percent
Defer neither                           62 percent
Defer both                               7 percent

Defer health care reform

"Health care is way too complex to get addressed properly, given more-immediate needs."

"With the momentum built by everyone from Al Gore to Boone Pickens, now is the time to advance an [energy] agenda."

Defer energy independence

"Energy independence is too complicated to be accomplished in a few months."

Defer neither

"Both are key to rebuilding our economy. And if he doesn't move on both in the first year, he will have trouble getting them done before the 2010 elections."

"The best way to govern and lead the country in the times we are in is to govern and lead as a transformative president -- meaning, to seek to address the enormous challenges we face through a 'big bang' and move beyond choosing between various incremental, orthodox Democratic policy proposals."

"You only get to make a first impression once. And he doesn't have a honeymoon moment to waste."

"I heard that a president needs to be able to multitask."

"President-elect Obama should move on both right away. Otherwise, Congress will start freelancing on both issues. The reality is, health care reform and energy independence are essential to long-term economic recovery."

Defer both

"Focus on the economy, economy, economy."

Q: Should President-elect Obama defer tackling comprehensive health care reform and/or energy independence in his first six months in office?

Republicans (77 votes)

Defer comprehensive health care reform  53 percent
Defer energy independence                1 percent
Defer neither                           27 percent
Defer both                              19 percent

Defer health care reform

"Health care is a quagmire: He needs wins right now to cement his standing and build, or at least maintain, political capital."

"No good can come from repeating what Billary did in 1993-94. The policy Obama proposed isn't quite ripe, let alone the politics."

"Energy independence can be tied to solving the economic crisis and addressing the Iraq war issue, the two specific matters that should occupy most of his first six months in office."

"The administration should focus on one major piece of non-economic-recovery legislation the first year. The electorate is primed for energy legislation after the shock of gas prices this past summer."

Defer energy independence

"The [growth] rate of the uninsured will increase with unemployment, making health reform a priority."

Defer neither

"Obama has a brief honeymoon window. Resolving tough issues will never get any easier."

"Expectations from the Left are so high he must pursue several fronts or risk losing control of his liberal base and his Democratic congressional majorities."

"Traditional inside-the-Beltway thinking would suggest he defer and focus only on the economy, but he set the bar for himself. And if he doesn't at least appear to be trying to get over it, he risks being seen as just another politician."

Defer both

"Nothing is as important as the economy right now."

National Journal Insiders

Democratic Political Insiders Karen Ackerman, Jill Alper, David Axelrod, Brad Bannon, Dave Beattie, Andy Bechhoefer, Cornell Belcher, Mitchell W. Berger, Mike Berman, Paul Brathwaite, Donna Brazile, Mark Brewer, Ed Bruley, George Bruno, Deb Callahan, Bonnie Campbell, Bill Carrick, Martin J. Chavez, Tony Coelho, Jim Craig, Jerry Crawford, Stephanie Cutter, Jeff Danielson, Peter Daou, Jim Demers, Tad Devine, Debbie Dingell, Monica Dixon, Michael Donilon, Tom Donilon, Anita Dunn, Jeff Eller, Steve Elmendorf, Carter Eskew, Eric Eve, Vic Fazio, Peter Fenn, Scott Ferson, Gordon Fischer, Tina Flournoy, Don Foley, Don Fowler, Gina Glantz, Joe Grandmaison, Anna Greenberg, Stan Greenberg, Pat Griffin, Michael Gronstal, Marcia Hale, Paul Harstad, Laura Hartigan, Mike Henry, Leo Hindery, Jr., Harold Ickes, Marcus Jadotte, John Jameson, Steve Jarding, Jonathon Jones, Jim Jordan, Gale Kaufman, Shar Knutson, Kam Kuwata, Celinda Lake, David Lang, Sylvia Larsen, Chris Lehane, Jeff Link, Bill Lynch, Steve Marchand, Jim Margolis, Paul Maslin, Terry McAuliffe, Caroline McCarley, Susan McCue, Gerald McEntee, Tom McMahon, Phil McNamara, David Medina, Mark Mellman, John Merrigan, Steve Murphy, Janet Napolitano, David Nassar, Marcia Nichols, John Norris, Tom Ochs, Tom O'Donnell, Scott Parven, Jeffrey Peck, Debora Pignatelli, John Podesta, Tony Podesta, Larry Rasky, Bruce Reed, Mame Reiley, Steve Ricchetti, Susan Rice, Will Robinson, Steve Rosenthal, David Rudd, John Ryan, Wendy Sherman, Terry Shumaker, Phil Singer, Bob Slagle, Erik Smith, Doug Sosnik, Darry Sragow, Karl Struble, Katrina Swett, Sarah Swisher, Eric Tabor, Jeffrey Trammell, Ed Turlington, Mike Veon, Rick Wiener, Bridgette Williams, JoDee Winterhof, and Jim Zogby.

GOP Political Insiders Dan Allen, Stan Anderson, Gary Andres, Saulius (Saul) Anuzis, Rich Ashooh, Whit Ayres, Brett Bader, Mitch Bainwol, Gary Bauer, David Beckwith, Wayne Berman, Charlie Black, Kirk Blalock, Carmine Boal, Jeff Boeyink, Ron Bonjean, Jeff Buley, Luke Byars, Nick Calio, Danny Carroll, Ron Christie, Jim Cicconi, Cesar Conda, Jake Corman, Charlie Crist, Greg Crist, Diane Crookham-Johnson, Fergus Cullen, Rick Davis, Mike Dennehy, Ken Duberstein, Steve Duprey, Debi Durham, Frank Fahrenkopf, John Feehery, Don Fierce, Carl Forti, Alex Gage, Sam Geduldig, Benjamin Ginsberg, Bill Greener, Jonathan Grella, Lanny Griffith, Janet Mullins Grissom, Doug Gross, Todd Harris, Steve Hart, Christopher Healy, Ralph Hellmann, Chris Henick, Terry Holt, David Iannelli, Clark Judge, David Keating, David Kensinger, Bruce Keough, Bob Kjellander, Ed Kutler, Chris Lacivita, Jim Lake, Chuck Larson, Steve Lombardo, Kevin Madden, Joel Maiola, Gary Maloney, David Marin, Mary Matalin, Dan Mattoon, Bill McInturff, Mark McKinnon, Kyle McSlarrow, Ken Mehlman, Jim Merrill, Mike Murphy, Phil Musser, Ron Nehring, Terry Nelson, Neil Newhouse, David Norcross, Ziad Ojakli, Jack Oliver, Van B. Poole, Tom Rath, Scott Reed, David Rehr, Steve Roberts, Jason Roe, David Roederer, Ed Rogers, Dan Schnur, Russ Schriefer, Rich Schwarm, Brent Seaborn, Rick Shelby, Andrew Shore, Don Sipple, Robin Smith, Javier Soto, Fred Steeper, Bob Stevenson, Eric Tanenblatt, Heath Thompson, Jay Timmons, Warren Tompkins, Ted Van Der Meid, Dirk van Dongen, Jan van Lohuizen, Dick Wadhams, John Weaver, Tom Wilson, Dave Winston, Ginny Wolfe, and Fred Wszolek.