Hello from Washington.

I'm Chuck Todd with a special edition of Meet the Press.

This Sunday, a collection of interviews from the Chuck Toddcast.

That's our weekly podcast featuring interviews with reporters and newsmakers.

First up is a conversation I had with former Defense Secretary, former CIA director, and a former White House chiefest

dad.

It's all the same person.

It's Leon Panetta.

So, you know, I always love to joke about your resume, but it's a resume that was well

learned.

And walk me through, if I'm not, let me get my back straight here, you were budget director,

right?

That was your first gig with Clinton.

And in fact, you were the pioneer in my head that said, budget director might be the single,

if there is a training job for chief of staff, it's budget director, right?

Explain.

Well, those were the days when budgets meant a hell of a lot more than they do these days.

But, you know, I think OMB director had a tremendous influence because ultimately whatever the administration wanted to do, it had to be paid for.

And it had to be part of the budget. And so the budget was

largely a reflection of the priorities of that administration. And obviously, the person who

put that budget together and defined those priorities as the O&B director. Well, Jeff Seines

said to me, he goes, you know, being budget director working in there,

...