Panetta has a solid record on civil rights, budget matters, environment and sure knows how to keep trains running on time since he served as White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton.

The problem is Panetta's impressive portfolio includes nothing in the intelligence community realm. And that apparently troubles some like Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, who has expressed surprise and questioned Panetta selection.

Wouldn't it have made sense for Obama to give Feinstein a heads-up on the appointment?

Perhaps Obama wanted secrecy around the pick for nation's spy agency. Hopefully, the move wasn't colored by a sense of arrogance and the idea he doesn't need to seek consensus for key administration moves.

It's easy to see how Obama could start to believe his own press clippings. He is clearly the most most exciting and inspiring political figure to come along in a generation. In a floundering country crying out for leadership, Obama has filled the void.

But Obama needs to keep up what has been a bedrock of his candidacy - inclusion. We've had enough of arrogance from the White House. Just recall how President Bush rushed the nation into war minus inclusion. His arrogance has left this nation and world with a festering mess in Iraq.

Obama has show incredible political chops during his run as a national political figure. So let's chalk this stumble up to a simple mistake or lack of communication. Hopefully there won't be many more.

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Paul Shepard blogs the Democrat side of politics for BlackVoices. He has been a journalist for 16 years; on the national urban/minority affairs beat for The Cleveland Plain Dealer and for The AP in Washington, D.C.