What Are Your Thoughts on Obama's Appointments and Holbrooke's AIG Role?

[Gokul43201]

Discuss your reactions to the appointments that Obama has and will be making over the coming days.

I, for one, am delighted that Gates will/may be staying in place (at least for a little while) as Sec Def. That is absolutely the right thing to do, and I'd been expecting to be disappointed with Obama choosing to replace Gates immediately. I'm happy that didn't happen; Gates is really good!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I agree, Gates is a good man.

Unfortunately, at any time he can cite the number of days that he has left. Maybe with new blood in the White House, he will be willing to stay for a time.

 

[Astronuc]

Names surface for top Obama administration jobs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081107/ap_on_el_pr/obama_potential_appointees

I think offering Gates the opportunity to stay is good, given the current situation.

Other names:
Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., member of Senate Armed Services Committee.


Then for Secretary of State:
Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., 2004 presidential nominee.
Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., former chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.


ENERGY SECRETARY
Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.


ATTORNEY GENERAL
Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., member of House Judiciary Committee.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former assistant U.S. attorney for civil rights.

 

[phoenixy]

Chief of Staff Emanuel

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15388.html

Haha, the more I read about this guy the more I like him, in a funny way. He is viewed as a hitman, arm-twister, in-your-face no non-sense enforcer. He is the bad cop, feared by Republicans and Democrats alike. He fears no one. But if Obama can keep this guy on a short leash, he will be very effective in pushing Obama's agendas through congress.

After years of lame-duck, I am ready and willing to see people trying to get things done. Bring it on.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Wow! John McLaughlin gushed over Obama's Emanuel pick, and McLaughlin isn't a liberal or an Obama supporter. He argues that Obama picked Emanuel to reign in the Dems in Congress, not to alienate the Republicans. McLaughlin made it clear that he is quite impressed with the sound thinking behind this decision.

 

[Astronuc]

Apparently Lugar has declined the position of Secretary of State.

Mr Obama will not take office until January 20th, but he can use the next ten weeks well. A good start would be to announce that he will offer jobs to a few Republicans. Robert Gates, Mr Bush’s excellent defence secretary who has helped transform the position in Iraq, ought to be kept in the post for at least a while. Sadly, Richard Lugar has ruled himself out as secretary of state; but Chuck Hagel, senator for Nebraska, is another possibility for a defence or foreign-policy job. Mr Obama might even find a non-executive role for John McCain, with whom he agrees on many things, especially the need to tackle global warming and close Guantánamo. Another pragmatic move would be to announce that his new treasury secretary (ideally an experienced centrist such as Larry Summers or Tim Geithner) will start working closely with Hank Paulson, the current one, immediately.

. . . .

Great Expectations - The Economist, Nov 6, 2008

 

[BobG]

Paul Volcker's name has been tossed around as possible Treasury Secretary.

He had a lot to do with my joining the Air Force back in 1982. He raised the interest rates so high I lost my construction job in masonry.

I remember telling the Three Little Pigs story to my daughter and nephews and nieces, except I'd add in the fourth segment of the story - the part where the big bad wolf goes to Washington DC and the third little pig gets evicted from his brick house.

Actually, living in a town where unions negotiated how big a pay cut to take to keep the tire factories in town a few years longer was pretty much a dead end in any event. I was going to need to leave pretty soon no matter what.

 

[Astronuc]

Sen Kerry has indicated he wants to be Chairman on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, so he is apparently not interested in the Secy of State.

 

[Astronuc]

You pick the candidates.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/11/11/us/politics/20081111_CABINET_PICKER.html

 

[BobG]

Chief of Staff Emanuel

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15388.html

Haha, the more I read about this guy the more I like him, in a funny way. He is viewed as a hitman, arm-twister, in-your-face no non-sense enforcer. He is the bad cop, feared by Republicans and Democrats alike. He fears no one. But if Obama can keep this guy on a short leash, he will be very effective in pushing Obama's agendas through congress.

After years of lame-duck, I am ready and willing to see people trying to get things done. Bring it on.

They were discussing Raum Emanuel's unusual style on Morning Joe the other morning. It turns out Morning Joe doesn't use a six-second delay on their broadcasts.

Not only is Emanuel impossible for the networks to interview on live TV, they find it hard to even discuss him. And by the way, everyone, period, in the room is afraid of him because he's stabbing the table and screaming "Dead!" after the name of every person that ever pissed him off.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/nov/07/raum-emanuel-is-known-for-getting-things-dones/

 

[chemisttree]

And by the way, everyone, period, in the room is afraid of him because he's stabbing the table and screaming "Dead!" after the name of every person that ever pissed him off.

Like Karl Rove on steroids...

 

[Astronuc]

Obama gets the Clinton band back together
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081114/pl_politico/15617

Here's how you can tell the campaign is over and the transition has begun: Barack Obama's aides now wear suits and ties, their desks are in the Federal Building on 6th Street in Washington, D.C.—and Clintonites are everywhere.

Obama's victory in the general election produced what his primary campaign couldn't: A swift merger of the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party with the Illinois Senator's self-styled insurgency. The merger began, during the campaign, in the policy apparatus—which is now rapidly becoming the governing apparatus.

The absorption of the Clinton government in waiting represents Obama's choice not to repeat what he and his advisors see as an early mistake made by the last two presidents: Attempting to wield power in Washington through an insular campaign apparatus new to town.

Obama's first major appointments have been Democrats who worked for President Clinton and did not endorse him in the primary: Transition chief John Podesta and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who will be White House chief of staff, stayed neutral, and Ron Klain, who will be Joe Biden's chief of staff, backed Biden. Obama, advisors told Politico, may even be weighing offering Hillary Clinton herself the Cabinet plum of Secretary of State.

"Obama is showing great good sense in making use of their experience," said William Galston, a former Clinton domestic policy advisor who’s now at the Brookings Institution. "You have an entire cadre of people in their 30s and 40s and early 50s who were either in senior jobs or second- and third-tier jobs in the Clinton administration, who really earned their spurs and know their way around—and know something about how the institutions in which they served actually function."

. . . .

Hmmmmm. I'm not impressed. Doesn't seem like the change those of us on the outside expected.

Officials: Sen. Clinton eyed as secretary of state
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081114/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_state_department

Double Hmmmmm. I have strong reservations.

 

[LowlyPion]

The troops may not be so different, but the General is.

My sense is that Obama is a pragmatist and is looking to get things done.

While I agree it remains to be seen what he will do, I can't fault him at this point for getting experienced troops aligned for the engagement.

 

[Art]

It would be good for bipartisanship if Obama could find a senior role for McCain in his cabinet. Just not sure which one. He'd probably like defence but he's a little too much of a maverick for that post

 

[BobG]

The troops may not be so different, but the General is.

My sense is that Obama is a pragmatist and is looking to get things done.

While I agree it remains to be seen what he will do, I can't fault him at this point for getting experienced troops aligned for the engagement.

Clinton was also a pragmatist. He had quite a few small accomplishments. If not for a few obnoxious personal habits, he'd probably be considered a little above average among Presidents (and probably will be by history, since decades from now, horny high school History students will probably find him a lot more interesting than Millard Fillmore - you know, he probably takes pleasure in that thought, too).

Still, Obama and his situation is different from Clinton's.

Clinton was a conservative Democrat that had to deal with a Republican Congress. Obama is a progressive liberal that will have to deal with a Democratic Congress.

 

[LowlyPion]

It would be good for bipartisanship if Obama could find a senior role for McCain in his cabinet. Just not sure which one. He'd probably like defence but he's a little too much of a maverick for that post

Put him in charge of Energy.

Then he can go up to Alaska and shut up those Drill, Baby, Drill fanatics.

Stick a nuclear plant up there and take it out of their endowment fund they have been robbing from the oil companies.

 

[Astronuc]

The troops may not be so different, but the General is.

My sense is that Obama is a pragmatist and is looking to get things done.

While I agree it remains to be seen what he will do, I can't fault him at this point for getting experienced troops aligned for the engagement.

Here's a list of names of foreign policy advisors to Clinton and Obama - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/documents/the-war-over-the-wonks.html

Yes - they have experience - but I given the lack of success during the last 20-30 years, that's not saying much in their favor. I don't want to see Holbrooke in any significant position.

Bill Clinton's foreign policy was poor and his domestic policy not much better. Perhaps Hillary could do better.

 

[Astronuc]

This is promising -

Advice and dissent: Obama reaches out to ex-rivals
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081115/ap_on_el_pr/obama_team_of_rivals

WASHINGTON – Presidents typically say they want to be surrounded by strong-willed people who have the courage to disagree with them. President-elect Barack Obama, reaching out to Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republicans, actually might mean it.

Abraham Lincoln meant it. He appointed his bitter adversaries to crucial posts, choosing as war secretary a man who had called him a "long-armed ape" who "does not know anything and can do you no good."

You could say his Cabinet meetings were frank and open.

Richard Nixon didn't mean it.

"I don't want a government of yes-men," he declared. But among all the president's men, those who said no did so at their peril. He went down a path of destruction in the company of sycophants.

It so happens that Obama and New York Sen. Clinton share a reverence for "Team of Rivals," Doris Kearns Goodwin's book about how Lincoln brought foes into his fold. Clinton listed it during the campaign as the last book she had read. Obama, clearly a student of Lincoln, spoke of it several times.

. . . .

Yet I'm waiting to see.

 

[LowlyPion]

How close are you to settling on a cabinet?

Mr. Obama: Well, I think that I've got a pretty good idea of what I'd like to see. But it takes some time to work those things through.

Kroft: When are you going to make your first announcement?

Mr. Obama: Soon.

Kroft: Next week?

Mr. Obama: Soon.

Kroft: You met with Senator Clinton this week.

Mr. Obama: I did.

Kroft: Is she on the short list for a cabinet position?

Mr. Obama: You know, she is somebody who I needed advice and counsel from. She is one of the most thoughtful public officials that we have. Beyond that, you're not getting anything out of me Steve.

Kroft: Will there be Republicans in the cabinet?

Mr. Obama: Yes.

Kroft: More than one?

Mr. Obama: You're not getting more out of me.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/16/60minutes/main4607893_page4.shtml

 

[Cyrus]

Here's a list of names of foreign policy advisors to Clinton and Obama - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/documents/the-war-over-the-wonks.html

Yes - they have experience - but I given the lack of success during the last 20-30 years, that's not saying much in their favor. I don't want to see Holbrooke in any significant position.

Bill Clinton's foreign policy was poor and his domestic policy not much better. Perhaps Hillary could do better.

I really liked richard holbrooke when he was on charlie rose. What don't you like about him?

 

[jtbell]

From cnn.com's Obama, McCain discuss need for 'new era of reform':

Republicans have praised the prospect of Clinton becoming secretary of state.

Henry Kissinger, who was secretary of state in the Nixon and Ford administrations, said Clinton would be an "outstanding" selection, Bloomberg News reported.

GOP Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona told Fox News, "She's got the experience; she's got the temperament for it."

And California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told ABC it would be a "great move."

Republicans praising Hillary? Have I stumbled into an alternate universe?

 

[LowlyPion]

Republicans praising Hillary? Have I stumbled into an alternate universe?

Perhaps.

The fact that the Nation has elected a mixed race candidate as President should already make you more sensitive to the possibility.

 

[Gokul43201]

Looks like Eric Holder for Attorney General, as expected.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/18/eric.holder/index.html

 

[LowlyPion]

Maybe this is the second bird Obama is trying to kill in appointing Hilary to Secretary of State?

Kennedy taps Clinton for big health reform job
By Jeffrey Young
Posted: 11/18/08 03:20 PM [ET]

Fourteen years after failing to deliver health reform for her husband’s White House, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will play a key role in advancing the issue in 2009 — if she remains in the Senate.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) designated Clinton to head a task force to develop a Senate Democratic proposal to expand health insurance coverage as part of his larger push to move a major overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system next year.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kennedy-taps-clinton-for-big-health-reform-job-2008-11-18.html

With Clinton at State, Obama avoids less potential conflict from within the party with regard to healthcare. And with Hilary at State, she ultimately must do what he wants as far as Foreign Policy anyway.

 

[jreelawg]

I was a little wowed by the Rahm factor, but who knows. The idea of sending a dead fish to a pollster sounds fishy to me. Is that legal? Maybe Obama needs him, though.

My impression on Obama's picks are that it will be very difficult for him if he intends to do his own thing. Another note I have taken is that the issues that have been discussed during the campaign don't in my opinion represent accurately the true issues that I would expect out of someone like Obama. I think that the political environment has been carved out of a criteria of worldly ignorance and been based on the opinions of informationally challenged voters. I wonder will the game ever continue, or will he break away and evaluate issues based on his intelligence vs. a public mass concensous? Either way, I think even a phony Obama would be better than continued republican control.

 

[LowlyPion]

Former US senator Tom Daschle named as Obama's health secretary
Daschle, once a Senate Democratic leader, has had a close working relationship with Obama for at least four years
Daniel Nasaw in Washington guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 19 2008 20.04 GMT
President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet continued to take shape today, as he offered former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle to post of secretary of health and human services.

Daschle, the former South Dakota senator who was ousted in 2004 in an aggressive Republican push for his seat, has had a close working relationship with Obama for at least four years. He was a mentor to Obama when Illinois senator joined the Senate in 2005 and was a key adviser to Barack Obama's campaign.

The Obama transition team has yet formally to announce Daschle's taking of the position, but several news organisations today reported the offer had been extended and that Daschle had accepted.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/19/obama-white-house-barackobama

 

[jreelawg]

I'm hoping for RFK as head of EPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/robert-f-kennedy-environm_n_141454.html

 

[jreelawg]

I'm hoping for RFK as head of EPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/05/robert-f-kennedy-environm_n_141454.html

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Please note that the Huffington Post is not considered a valid reference here. Nor is Fox News.

 

[jreelawg]

Please note that the Huffington Post is not considered a valid reference here. Nor is Fox News.

Just for the record, I don't know anything about huffington post, I just searched google to see if RFK was still being considered or had been chosen for EPA.

I'll make a note to not get info there anymore.

 

[Proton Soup]

Huffington is referencing Politico

 

[Ivan Seeking]

It is being reported by the NY Times that Hillary has accepted the job of Secretary of State.

 

[LowlyPion]

Tim Geithner is being announced as head of Treasury.

Market up +200

 

[turbo]

It is being reported by the NY Times that Hillary has accepted the job of Secretary of State.

That's interesting, because word from Obama's camp was that he would likely offer the job to her but not until after Thanksgiving. Obama's aides have been complaining about all the leaks coming out of the Clinton camp, saying that the Clintonistas are trying to box Obama in and force him to offer her the job.

Clinton as Sec of State is a horrid idea. She supported the Iraq war, and does not want to negotiate with Iran, among other things. Bill Richardson is an experienced and accomplished diplomat and HE should be offered the job first, IMO. Plus, he lost a lot of political clout by breaking with the Clintons and supporting Obama.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yes, CNN reports that Obama's and Hillary's people are pulling back saying that this is not yet a done deal.