Democrats make clear they will guard turf

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in control of the U.S. Congress are sending clear signals to President-elect Barack Obama that they will guard their turf, presaging some battles ahead despite one-party rule in Washington.

First there was California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's anger that she was not consulted before the news leaked that Obama had made a surprise choice to lead the CIA, Leon Panetta, a former White House chief of staff with little direct expertise in the field of intelligence.

As the incoming chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee which will hold confirmation hearings on the nomination, Feinstein would expect to be consulted about such a move and her public complaint led Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to quickly call her to soothe her concerns.

Then Harry Reid, who leads the Democratic majority in the Senate, warned that they would not rubber-stamp the policies of fellow-Democrat Obama.

"I don't believe in the executive power trumping everything ... I believe in our Constitution, three separate but equal branches of government," the Nevada Democrat told The Hill newspaper.

"If Obama steps over the bounds, I will tell him. I do not work for Barack Obama. I work with him," he said.

All this is fairly standard turf protection on Capitol Hill but it comes at an auspicious time, as Obama prepares to push forward an aggressive agenda that includes an economic stimulus plan estimated to cost $775 billion or so.

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, disagreed with Obama's promise to make tax cuts a central feature of the stimulus.

"Oh, I think he will do enough overall," Frank, whose committee oversees financial issues, told National Public Radio. "I have some difference because I think they may be doing too much tax-cutting and not enough direct spending from the standpoint of immediate job creation."

Experts see a trend.

"I think they're sending a very clear message that unless Obama pays deference to them, it's not going to be a lead-pipe cinch to get his agenda through Congress," said Democratic strategist Doug Schoen, who worked in the Bill Clinton White House. "I think it's a real warning shot."

'SLIP ON A BANANA PEEL'

So far Obama is getting high marks from Democrats and Republicans for his willingness to reach out to both sides and seek common ground.

That is why experts were surprised by what Biden called a mistake over the failure to consult Feinstein and other interested parties on the Panetta choice, which is expected to be announced on Friday along with that of retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair as director of national intelligence.

Given that Obama is a former member of the U.S. Senate and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was a member of the House of Representatives, the experts said it should have been an easy call to make.

"One thing they really have going for them is an understanding of Congress," said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar and political science professor at George Washington University. "So the idea that they've already slipped on this banana peel I guess shows that somebody is always going to slip on a banana peel."

Feinstein, a California Democrat, expressed satisfaction with the Panetta choice once she was assured that career intelligence professionals would be at his side.

"This is important to me, because there are big issues facing the agency," she told reporters on Wednesday.

A former intelligence official said Obama appeared to have turned to the outsider Panetta because Democratic activists were complaining he might choose someone with ties to the Bush administration's harsh interrogation procedures for terrorism suspects.

One name that was considered for the CIA post, long-time agency veteran John Brennan, was crossed off the list because of these complaints.

"Panetta got the job because he was the only guy they could come up with," the former intelligence official said.

Brennan is now being talked about as a deputy White House national security adviser for counter-terrorism as Obama prepares to dismantle President George W. Bush's system of having a homeland security adviser oversee domestic security.

The White House job would not require Senate confirmation as the CIA post would.

Obama told reporters on Tuesday that the intelligence team he will announce will be "committed to breaking with some of the past practices and concerns that have, I think, tarnished the image of the agencies, as well as U.S. foreign policy."

Intelligence officials have been accused of telling the Bush administration what it wanted to hear before the Iraq war.

Assuming he gets confirmed, Panetta would be taking over a spy agency that has gone through a number of makeovers since the September 11 attacks. Officials there give current CIA Director Mike Hayden high marks for bolstering morale.

(Editing by David Wiessler)

(steve.holland@reuters.com)