Will Defense Secretary Robert Gates be a voice of realism within the Bush administration? Or will he bend his knee to the ideologues?

--Dan Froomkin at Washingtonpost.com

No. Yes.

Or possibly yes to the first question, in which he will be reduced to the status of a potted plant within the administration (cf. Colin Powell, Paul O'Neill, Christie Whitman), while Dick Cheney acts as de facto secretary of defense. Maybe he'll be told to him busy himself with expanding the military, while Cheney guides Bush in running the war.

This has been another episode of obvious answers to simple questions.