Toughie, Smoothy, Striver, Spy

Robert Gates was an eagle scout and an A- student, a wholesome Kansas kid who met his wife-to-be on a hayride. He yearned to become a doctor or a teacher, and volunteered to tutor needy students. His college honored him as the graduate "who has made the greatest contribution to his fellow man." So how did a nice guy like Gates get into the spy business? And why do some Democrats in the Senate say such nasty things about him?

Nominated last week by President Bush to serve as director of Central Intelligence, Gates began his CIA career "on a lark" in 1965. He accepted a + recruiter's invitation to an interview just for "a free trip to Washington." Once he got there, however, things got serious. The agency asked Gates to join, not as a "spy" but as a deskbound analyst, and he accepted. Yet when the agency offered to finance his part-time doctoral studies, Gates declined. He "didn't want to feel obligated to stay" if a good teaching job suddenly became open.

Fast-forward a quarter-century and Gates, now 47, is poised to become the youngest -- and yet the most experienced -- CIA director since the agency was founded in 1947. But first Gates must win the Senate confirmation that eluded him on his last go-round, in 1987. Then the agency's deputy director, he was criticized for not acting on indications that the Iran-contra scandal was afoot. No wrongdoing by Gates was proved, but he withdrew his name from nomination to spare President Reagan further embarrassment.

Since then, passions have cooled and the public has grown weary of the Iran- contra investigation. The boyish-looking, soft-spoken Gates, during two years as first lieutenant to retiring CIA Director William Webster and two more as Deputy National Security Adviser to Bush, has assiduously cultivated key Senators. Though some Democrats vow to re-examine Gates' Iran-contra role, most Senators predict that he will be confirmed this time, barring some unexpected new evidence of wrongdoing. "Bob Gates was an exceptional deputy to Webster, an honest liaison to the congressional committees and an invaluable aide to the President in the White House," says Senator David Boren, the Oklahoma Democrat who chairs the intelligence committee. "I think he could be an outstanding CIA director."

The agency can afford nothing less if it is to outgrow its cold war roots. Policymakers lament the CIA's failure to warn earlier of Iraq's intention to invade Kuwait, and they demand intelligence on new topics, from industrial counterespionage to the AIDS epidemic's devastation of the political and managerial elites in several African countries. Budget cutters hungrily eye the estimated $30 billion in often redundant spending by the CIA and other elements of the intelligence community. To address these challenges, Bob Gates offers close ties with the White House and Pentagon, broad CIA experience and a black belt in bureaucratic politics.