Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Toughie, Smoothy, Striver, Spy: BOB GATES
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"...
To read the entire article, you must be a TIME subscriber. Already registered? Sign in below
Current print subscribers to register
Subscribe now to get TIME All Access
Email, Password or Region is incorrect
A required form parameter was missing.
The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes.
Email Address is invalid
Password is blank
Most Popular »
- How Cash Keeps Poor People Poor
- E.T. Turns 30: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Our Favorite Extraterrestrial
- 15-Year-Old Creates Test for Pancreatic Cancer
- Nevada Ghosts: Rare Photos From an A-Bomb Test
- Euro Crisis: Why A Greek Exit Could Be Much Worse Than Expected
- Could a Fertility Gene Discovery Lead to New Male Contraception?
- Fourth Flesh-Eating-Bacteria Case Confirmed in Georgia, Possible Fifth
- 10 Dangerous Products You Might Have in Your Home
- Obama Stumbles? Why the President's Right to Talk About Bain
- Star Wars Turns 35: How TIME Covered the Film Phenomenon
- Researchers Probe the Potential Health Benefits of Palm Oil
- A Visit with Turkey's Controversial Religious Movement
- Feeding the Planet Without Destroying It
- Bubble on the Potomac
- Falcon's Liftoff: How a Private Firm Could Change Space Exploration
- The Fatal Flight of the Superjet 100: Why Did It Slam Into a Mountain?
- Learning That Works
- The Man Who Remade Motherhood
- Bibi's Choice
- Seoul: 10 Things to Do
More News from Our Partners
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
RAY KELLY, New York City Police Commissioner, on the arrest of a New Jersey man in one of the nation's most baffling missing-children cases, the disappearance more than three decades ago of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
