Surprise All Around at the Panetta Announcement

I wasn't the only one surprised by the Leon Panetta announcement.

CNN interviewed this lady who was just as puzzled, and she doesn't seem at all pleased:

“I was not informed about the selection of Leon Panetta to be the CIA Director. I know nothing about this, other than what I’ve read,” Feinstein said in a statement. “My position has consistently been that I believe the Agency is best-served by having an intelligence professional in charge at this time.”

Leon Panetta? Really?

This news leaves me puzzled. Leon Panetta is a former California Congressman, former OMB Director, former Clinton White House Chief of Staff and former lawyer. He's currently the head of a public policy institute. He gives every indication of being an all-around nice guy. I once worked on an inter agency task force that reported to him when he was Chief of Staff, and I got no bad vibes from him. But I'm at a loss to see what background or experience he has that's pertinent to the job of CIA Director.

According to his Wikipedia entry, Panetta "was chief of operations and planning of the intelligence section" at Fort Ord, California, during his Army service (1964-1966). Also, he's wearing a trench coat in the photo that accompanied the New York Times story, and, when photographed from certain angles, he looks kind of sneaky. Beyond that, what recommends him to be CIA Director?