Gates confirmed as Secretary of Defense

The second big non-news story of the day is Robert M. Gates confirmation as Secretary of Defense. This also really didn't surprise me here, since Gates was one of the real politik officials from Poppy Bush's administration. So this is from the Washington Post:

The Senate overwhelmingly approved Robert M. Gates yesterday as the new defense secretary to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld, sealing a swift confirmation with a vote of 95 to 2 that reflected bipartisan confidence in his willingness to overhaul U.S. strategy in Iraq.

Senate Democrats and Republicans lauded Gates's frankness after a day of testimony Tuesday in which he acknowledged that the United States is not winning in Iraq, and said that historians would have to judge whether the decision to invade Iraq in March 2003 was correct. He also pledged to take a fresh approach to Iraq in which "all options are on the table."

Two Republican senators -- Jim Bunning (Ky.) and Rick Santorum (Pa.) -- voted against Gates, with Bunning saying that Gates's criticism of "our efforts in Iraq" sends the wrong message to U.S. troops and allies.

Rich Santorum voted against Gates' confirmation? Now that's a surprise! Then again, I guess Santorum wanted to use this vote as a protest against the adults taking over this Iraq disaster from the neocon children in the Bush White House. Then again, who knows what goes on within Santorum's twisted, half-crazed mind.