Obama to promote Michael Brown to head of CIA

[Lonestar]

So why do you think he did it? Using DCIA as a tool for Capitol Hill politicking? Trying to keep CIA under his thumb?

Possibly trying to enhance his own power("Just give the briefs to me and I'll give them to the President"), although Robert Zubrin claims his predecessor started the practice of blocking the DCI because Woolsey was saying unfriendly things about the Saudis, and one of the biggest clients of Kissinger&Associates(Mclarty's job before CoS) is the Saudi Royal Family.

So, depending upon who you talk to, Woolsey was initially blocked because of Saudi influence, and Panetta continued the practice out of an attempt to enhance his own power.