The Gates Conference Call Crew

I note without (much) comment the participants on today’s conference call with ” Internet national security writers” and Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Gen. James Cartwright, which I for one greatly appreciated:

Me

Wired’s Noah Shachtman

Politico‘s David Cloud

Slate‘s Fred Kaplan

CFR/Commentary‘s Max Boot

American University’s Gordon Adams

The Center for American Progress Action Fund’s Matthew Yglesias

Interesting mix there. I would have expected more conservatives, frankly.

Also, while TPM’s Brian Beutler wasn’t on the call, check out his attempts at chasing Rep. John McHugh’s (R-N.Y)  “$8 billion cut” in defense — something McHugh appears to have invented — down the rabbit hole.