Gates arrived at the Pentagon in December 2006 as a one-man cleanup crew after the departure of Donald Rumsfeld. (In a recent memoir, former Rumsfeld speechwriter Matt Latimer compared Gates to "The Wolf," Harvey Keitel's character in "Pulp Fiction" who instructs a pair of hit men on how to sanitize the scene of a grisly shooting.)

Headstrong Rummy had spent six years infuriating Democrats on Capitol Hill; the mild-mannered Gates impressed lawmakers from the get-go with his admission that the U.S. was not winning in Iraq. The new Defense secretary then helped turn things around in Iraq with the surge. After the Walter Reed scandal broke, he coaxed retirements from Army Secretary Francis Harvey and Army Surgeon General Kevin Kiley.

But as Gates continues to helm the ship he helped right, his role has evolved. With his sparkling track record, bipartisan appeal and power within the Cabinet, he's earned the moniker "The Godfather" from senior Pentagon officials.

In his new role, Gates is part hit man as well. When Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who commands U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, went off the reservation last week and said a strategy less aggressive than the one he advocates would be "short-sighted," Gates called him out (subscription).

"In this process, it is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations -- civilians and military alike -- provide our best advice to the president candidly but privately," he said Monday.

Gates has also proved to be an effective shield for criticism. When hawks blasted Obama for junking missile defense plans in Poland and the Czech Republic, the Godfather helped provide cover, penning an op-ed in defense of a sea-based missile shield.

"I am often characterized as 'pragmatic,'" he wrote with characteristic understatement. "I believe this is a very pragmatic proposal."