Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta performed groundwork for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, delivering what Bloomberg's John Heilemann called a "thinly veiled shot" at President Obama.
"The one thing about the Clintons is that they want to get it done," Panetta said. "It isn't just about talking the game; it's about getting something done."
Heilemann said Panetta was "getting larger" in the run-up to the release of his new memoir, Worthy Fights, while Mark Halperin said Panetta has been "extraordinary critical" of the president in private and is "very close" to the Clintons.
"If he doesn't back off, the White House better hope there's other news to blot it out, because it is a damning critique," Halperin said. "I don't think he's an author who's going to back off on the White House."