Still, the Gates book swings both ways. He also offers up some of the best praise Clinton is likely to receive from a Republican. If she does eventually decide on another White House run, she'll be hard-pressed to find a presidential running mate (assuming she wins the nomination this time around) who can outdo Gates' praise.
"I found her smart, idealistic but pragmatic, tough-minded, indefatigable, funny, a very valuable colleague, and a superb representative of the United States all over the world," is how he described the former secretary of state.
While there's been much focus on Gates' recollection of Clinton acknowledging that politics factored into her position on the Iraq surge, here's a contrarian view: Gates' praise could potentially offset it.
It was so robust that a high-profile Hillary Clinton supporter like David Brock, founder of Correct the Record and Media Matters for America, found much to like. He even plastered it on the Correct the Record website.
"I think the surprising part is that he really does seem to be critical of almost everyone that he's worked with across administrations. It does seem like he goes out of his way to single her out for a lot of positive comment and praise."
It's unlikely Gates' warm praise for Clinton will hurt her with too many voters in her Democratic base since she opposed the surge, however she got there.
By contrast, Gates' positive review of Clinton as an impressive government servant could help her with those all-important political independents, many of whom once identified themselves as Republicans.
"Because he is a Republican, he has a certain kind of credibility with not only Republicans but with independents," Brock said.
