You get to dictate to a president who he can and cannot appoint to his own intelligence staff. This was not a Senate-confirmation issue. And it was not because of some financial or tax issue. It was because of what he believed. And a president is simply not allowed to have that kind of diversity of view in his administration. And he knows this is a battle he shouldn't fight.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2009/03/what-real-power-in-washington-means/204689/
