Defense Secretary Gates Counts Down to End of Bush Administration

In USNWR's "Whispers", here

"Part of what got him through this difficult tenure, presiding over two wars, losing hundreds of brave men and women on his watch," says spokesman Geoff Morrell, "has been this expectation that come Jan. 20, 2009, he gets to return to the place he loves the most in the world." The clock is actually a little business-card size thing on a key chain that a friend back in the Seattle area gave Gates. "He refers to it quite often," says Morrell, "and likes to break it out to remind himself that his days are numbered and he's heading home."