The Agency was badly hamstrung in 1972 but came back to life to a large extent under Reagen. Unfortunately, Clinton raped then gutted the CIA in a variety of ways - especially our funding.
CIA successes are not talked about. CIA failures sometimes go public. Congress has no problem blaming the Agency for their own mistakes / actions because they know the Agency cannot and will not defend itself publicly. A lot of what you read in the press is crap. Go figure.
The Agency has turned into a glorified CNN. Much of the top management is liberal. There is a strong bias against risk taking. But this is exactly what Congress wants and the American people are therefore ultimately to blame.
I have been out for several years but from what my friends tell me it hasn't improved that much. Bush didn't clean house - he tried to build consensus with Democrats. He is a compassionate but in my opinion somewhat naive President.
Agency staff, especially the covert employees, are some of the smartest, most ethical and hardest working people on the planet. With a conservative Congress they could do wonders.
In spite of all the issues - the CIA is the best intelligence gathering organization on the planet. Admittedly, that is partly a function of money - but it is a true statement none the less.
An important comment that leaves much to think about. I believe we're still paying a terrible price for the Carter-Turner-Church Committee decision to de-emphasize human intelligence in favor of "technical means.