By Marina Cracchiolo
WASHINGTON — Former Defense Secretary and author Robert Gates can add one more title to his growing resume: walking quote machine. The charismatic leader who stood next to two presidents during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and sparked controversy with his new book criticizing President Barack Obama, showed off his lighter side during an appearance Thursday night at Politico’s cocktail evening at the Mayflower Hotel.
Gates strolled onto stage in a neck brace and took aim at everyone and everything from himself, Washington, Obama and his critics. He started by poking fun at himself and his clumsiness. He then moved on to mock North Korea’s dictator family, the Kims, saying each one is swimming shallower and shallower in the gene pool. Dozens of Tweets were posted during the informal public speech. One audience member even posted on Twitter: “Gates has one of the best senses of humor I’ve observed of cabinet officials.” Here’s a roundup of some of Gates quotable Twitter quotes.
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