November 02, 2010
In Praise of Ike Skelton
It was pretty obvious that the Republicans were going to win the House of Representatives and that Buck McKeon would be the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. But I was hoping that Skelton would at least win re-election and stay in the committee. The fact that he has now lost his seat is a loss for the entire national security community. Widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans, Skelton leaves the Congress and takes his 30 years of experience with him. And though I for one will miss his genial presence on the HASC, I'm sure Skelton himself -- always the gold standard for civility while in the Congress -- will move back to Missouri and find more time to read the Civil War histories he enjoys. I wish him -- and his successor, Rep. McKeon -- the best of luck.
Update: To be sure, this isn't really the blog to follow for defense policy in the legislative branch, but there are some good comments in this thread.