Foreign Policy reports that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates plans to leave the administration in 2011, indeed he has stayed quite a bit longer than he originally planned. Secretary Gates told FP, "I just think this is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of a presidential election. So I think sometime in 2011 sounds pretty good." With this news, the speculation as to who would replace him picks up.
Always the bridesmaid: Chuck Hagel
Former Nebraska senator
The Obama administration has been trying to give Hagel a prime posting for a while. He's reported to have turned down several sweet offers, including ambassador to China and director of national intelligence. He does serve as a co-chair of Obama's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. In Hagel's favor, he's a Republican who won't bend to the GOP talking points of the moment and he's high-profile enough to fill the chair. The fear is that his independence and his penchant for veering off message in a Biden-esque way make him too risky to entrust with such a prominent perch. Moreover, if Obama chooses another Republican to lead DOD, many will begin to question whether the Democratic national- security bench is too thin or if Obama is wary of putting someone in his own party in charge of the wars.