After having read Weiners "Legacy of Ashes", I'd say:
1. The CIA as an institution is not what it was. It used to be primus inter pares, nowadays it is just one intelligence service of many, with many functions taken over by the Pentagon and private contractors.
The Office of DCI was abolished in 2005.
2. There's no one left with a real intelligence backround. The veteran officers that could've become the new head of the CIA were all pretty much burned by Iraqui weapons of mass destruction, failure to prevent 911, black sites and all that.
The only man left alive with real creds in intelligence and a (relatively) clean record is Bob Gates, and even he failed to predict the collapse of the USSR.
Also it is fitting that the US' most experienced intelligence officer is now SecDef, not head of the CIA, as the military does most of the intel work now.
3. From what I read about Panetta on the Wikipedia, he's a jurist and a bleeding heart liberal. Exactly what the CIA needs now.
After years of basically being permitted to do everything, somebody has to put them back into place.
Also, many administrations have given the post of DCI to people with zero intelligence experience. The most prominent example is George H. W. Bush.
AFAIK Robert Helms and Robert Gates were among the few DCIs who actually came from within the ranks of the service.
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