Tim's Favorite Blogs
Media Matters
Blog Directories
Monday, December 1. 2008
The Team
President-Elect Obama has officially announced his foreign policy and national security team. We knew all of them already, since the week of the election, but now it’s official.
Topping the list, New York’s junior senator, presidential candidate and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. What’s the biggest news about Clinton? Not so much the differences of opinions between Obama and Clinton, no, the big news is all the concessions her husband, President Bill Clinton made to pave the way for his wife to be Secretary of State.
Bill had to give up the list of donors to his foundation and library! Not to mention, when Clinton speaks (he’s one of the highest paid speakers on the speaking circuit) he has to submit his speeches to the State Department, divulge who is donating money and how much and what he will be saying in his speech.
See why I never got married! The things a man has to do to please his wife! Bill said of his wife, “She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America's image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities.”
Okay, I gotta wonder … naah, everyone knows Bill’s predilections.
It was clear throughout the primary elections Obama and Senator Clinton were not that far apart on foreign policy, although she hammered the president-elect when he said it would be appropriate to invade Pakistan to go after Al Qa’ida. Clinton actually agrees with that in principle, but she always qualifies it by saying it would be appropriate if the Pakistanis didn’t go after Al Qa’ida — which is pretty much the case today.
Senator Clinton was quite gracious though, the rancor of the campaign long past and said she was proud to join the Obama team. Well, if not the Vice presidency, Secretary of State is pretty good too! She will be the third woman to have the post and the first “First Lady” to do so.
During the Clinton Administration it was no secret Hillary was as much a policy wonk as her hubby and for many of us, we thought she was the policy guru in the marriage. Bill may be a great speaker and Rhodes Scholar, but Hillary Clinton was the one who did the homework, filled in the details. She knows how to get the job done.
Except for that horrible failure with health care. That was a disaster.
The other major post in foreign policy: Secretary of Defense. Robert Gates agreed to stay on to shepherd the war in Iraq to a close. He’s been there for two years, appointed shortly after Donald Rumsfeld was run out of the job.
Gates has often said he wants to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and with Obama as president, we will no doubt see that happen before the summer, 2009 is over. A new agreement with Iraq has been approved allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq through 2011. That gives the U.S. enough time for Obama to adhere to his withdrawal policy — within 16 months — and allows wiggle room if it takes a little more time.
Gates had been a member of that Iraq Advisory Group Bush appointed shortly after the tide of Iraq was becoming clear to the public. It was a failure, bore no resemblance to the bromides Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld had spouted in promoting the fiasco and the IAG basically affirmed it officially. And, it determined that the best course of action was to get U.S. troops out of Iraq as expeditiously as possible.
Well, that didn’t happen, but when it came time to replace Donald Rumsfeld, who promised our troops would not be in Iraq for more than five months, Gates was the obvious choice of everyone to replace Rummy. A true soldier, Gates said he was, “Honored to serve President-Elect Obama,” and of the extension of his post: “I must do my duty as they do theirs,” Gates said, speaking of the troops still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, “How could I do otherwise?”
Gotta admire Gates and his sense of duty. He’s the only Republican in the top tier of Obama’s cabinet, but there are rumors more will be in the lower echelons of the Obama Administration.
For his National Security Advisor, Obama picked retired Marine Corps General James Jones, the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Commander of the U.S. Forces-Europe, and most importantly, when he started his military career, platoon and company commander for Golf Company, 2nd battalion, 3rd Marines. He’s a grunt, through-and-through.When people speak of “boots on the ground,” during Vietnam James Jones’s boots were on the ground. He’s a Marine’s Marine. I, on the other hand, was but an engineer, keeping the beer cold and the lights on.
In the key post of Attorney General, Obama appointed Eric Holder, a former #2 in the Justice Department under President Clinton. Holder has much talked about baggage, but he has great knowledge of the department and more importantly, the letter of the law as dictated by the Constitution.For Secretary of Homeland Security, Obama chose Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, an expert, we’re told, on border security and immigration. Good luck with that regardless of her credentials. You can’t please everyone and most likely, they’ll piss off everyone with the compromises and accommodations that will take place in the controversy that is immigration.
If there is a surprise in the latest list of Obama appointees, is that long-time foreign policy expert and former Clinton Administration official Susan Rice will be the Ambassador to the United Nations, a stark improvement over the mustachioed one (John Bolton). The surprise though is that Obama will make that ambassadorship a cabinet post.
Already appointed, but not so … dramatic … New Mexico governor and former Clinton Administration cabinet member, Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary. He really has no issues and is widely considered one of Obama’s best picks for a cabinet post. Unlike former Senator Tom Daschle, chosen as Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Daschle has been on the board of the Mayo Clinic and worked for a lobbying firm involved in medical and health-related issues.
If there will be bumpy confirmations, it will be with Daschle and Holder.
President-Elect Obama has officially announced his foreign policy and national security team. We knew all of them already, since the week of the election, but now it’s official.
Topping the list, New York’s junior senator, presidential candidate and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. What’s the biggest news about Clinton? Not so much the differences of opinions between Obama and Clinton, no, the big news is all the concessions her husband, President Bill Clinton made to pave the way for his wife to be Secretary of State.
Bill had to give up the list of donors to his foundation and library! Not to mention, when Clinton speaks (he’s one of the highest paid speakers on the speaking circuit) he has to submit his speeches to the State Department, divulge who is donating money and how much and what he will be saying in his speech.
See why I never got married! The things a man has to do to please his wife! Bill said of his wife, “She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America's image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities.”
Okay, I gotta wonder … naah, everyone knows Bill’s predilections.
It was clear throughout the primary elections Obama and Senator Clinton were not that far apart on foreign policy, although she hammered the president-elect when he said it would be appropriate to invade Pakistan to go after Al Qa’ida. Clinton actually agrees with that in principle, but she always qualifies it by saying it would be appropriate if the Pakistanis didn’t go after Al Qa’ida — which is pretty much the case today.
Senator Clinton was quite gracious though, the rancor of the campaign long past and said she was proud to join the Obama team. Well, if not the Vice presidency, Secretary of State is pretty good too! She will be the third woman to have the post and the first “First Lady” to do so.
During the Clinton Administration it was no secret Hillary was as much a policy wonk as her hubby and for many of us, we thought she was the policy guru in the marriage. Bill may be a great speaker and Rhodes Scholar, but Hillary Clinton was the one who did the homework, filled in the details. She knows how to get the job done.
Except for that horrible failure with health care. That was a disaster.
The other major post in foreign policy: Secretary of Defense. Robert Gates agreed to stay on to shepherd the war in Iraq to a close. He’s been there for two years, appointed shortly after Donald Rumsfeld was run out of the job.
Gates has often said he wants to shut down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and with Obama as president, we will no doubt see that happen before the summer, 2009 is over. A new agreement with Iraq has been approved allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq through 2011. That gives the U.S. enough time for Obama to adhere to his withdrawal policy — within 16 months — and allows wiggle room if it takes a little more time.
Gates had been a member of that Iraq Advisory Group Bush appointed shortly after the tide of Iraq was becoming clear to the public. It was a failure, bore no resemblance to the bromides Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld had spouted in promoting the fiasco and the IAG basically affirmed it officially. And, it determined that the best course of action was to get U.S. troops out of Iraq as expeditiously as possible.
Well, that didn’t happen, but when it came time to replace Donald Rumsfeld, who promised our troops would not be in Iraq for more than five months, Gates was the obvious choice of everyone to replace Rummy. A true soldier, Gates said he was, “Honored to serve President-Elect Obama,” and of the extension of his post: “I must do my duty as they do theirs,” Gates said, speaking of the troops still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, “How could I do otherwise?”
Gotta admire Gates and his sense of duty. He’s the only Republican in the top tier of Obama’s cabinet, but there are rumors more will be in the lower echelons of the Obama Administration.
For his National Security Advisor, Obama picked retired Marine Corps General James Jones, the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Commander of the U.S. Forces-Europe, and most importantly, when he started his military career, platoon and company commander for Golf Company, 2nd battalion, 3rd Marines. He’s a grunt, through-and-through.
When people speak of “boots on the ground,” during Vietnam James Jones’s boots were on the ground. He’s a Marine’s Marine. I, on the other hand, was but an engineer, keeping the beer cold and the lights on.
In the key post of Attorney General, Obama appointed Eric Holder, a former #2 in the Justice Department under President Clinton. Holder has much talked about baggage, but he has great knowledge of the department and more importantly, the letter of the law as dictated by the Constitution.
For Secretary of Homeland Security, Obama chose Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, an expert, we’re told, on border security and immigration. Good luck with that regardless of her credentials. You can’t please everyone and most likely, they’ll piss off everyone with the compromises and accommodations that will take place in the controversy that is immigration.
If there is a surprise in the latest list of Obama appointees, is that long-time foreign policy expert and former Clinton Administration official Susan Rice will be the Ambassador to the United Nations, a stark improvement over the mustachioed one (John Bolton). The surprise though is that Obama will make that ambassadorship a cabinet post.
Already appointed, but not so … dramatic … New Mexico governor and former Clinton Administration cabinet member, Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary. He really has no issues and is widely considered one of Obama’s best picks for a cabinet post. Unlike former Senator Tom Daschle, chosen as Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Daschle has been on the board of the Mayo Clinic and worked for a lobbying firm involved in medical and health-related issues.
If there will be bumpy confirmations, it will be with Daschle and Holder. But, it’s a Democratically controlled Senate, so it won’t be very tough, considering key Republicans, like Richard Luger of Indiana and Arlen Spector of Pennsylvania applaud the Obama choices. That should ensure there will be no filibusters. We shall see.
Now it’s time to get back to the economy. The experts have confirmed: we are officially in a recession and have been for the past 15 months. ya think?
Calendar
Quicksearch
Categories
AD Links
Referrals
Syndicate This Blog
Blog Administration
Powered by
TheForkesReport