Gates and Duct Tape

You can fix all kinds of things with duct tape including, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the humongous C-17 airlifter that hauled him around Afghanistan earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Gates started his day at Bagram Air Force Base, followed by a flight to Camp Leatherneck, also in Afghanistan, to visit troops stationed there.

Gates, who was running late, started out his brief remarks to the troops at Camp Leatherneck by saying, "First of all, let me apologize to you all for that 45-minute wait. We had a false start at Bagram, and had to put a little duct tape on the airplane or something."

It's good to have a Secretary of Defense with a sense of humor. Maybe in his spare time he could give some lessons to members of Congress.