quote:

Originally posted by Shakka Beats me. But for all the talk and campaigning on "change" and a new direction, I'd like to see something that actually represents change or a new direction...stuff we haven't seen before. To this I can only say, fucking shit. Better than Kerry, but fucking shit. Those Clintons always find a way to meddle. I prefer my Hillary far away from politics. Then again, this will at least keep her out of the health-care debate...hopefully.

I think what you mean here is that you'd like to see "change" in a direction more in line with your personal beliefs.

I'm pretty confident he's more intelligent than most people in this country and understands the inner workings and hooks in the government process/etc, so I'd have a little faith, at least until evidence arises to the contrary. It might help us sleep better at night.

quote:

Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov To be fair, only Hillary is in DC at the moment, so I'm not sure what your point is.

my point was backing up what magnetonium was saying about, how can this be change you can believe in when his cabinet is filling up with re-treads from the Clinton administration?

quote:

Originally posted by The17sss my point was backing up what magnetonium was saying about, how can this be change you can believe in when his cabinet is filling up with re-treads from the Clinton administration?

You'd prefer appointments with no prior federal government experience?

The Democrats have been in the wilderness in DC for some time - the Clinton years were the window for policymakers to cut their teeth.

It's not like he's nominating cabinet-level officials from the Clinton era - most of these guys were mid-level people back then learning the process. There will be those from outside as well - Susan Rice as NSA and Samantha Power at the UN come to mind as probable selections.

___________________

Jim Jones as National Security Advisor - a nice pick, IMO with strong credentials.

I've got mixed feelings about keeping Gates on as SoD. Personally I'd like Obama to take out all of those from the past Admin., but I suppose if there's one that might be worth keeping it's Gates.

Funny story about Gates - his brother was actually the principle to the High School my dad taught at. And Gates came in one day as a guest speaker to the Government class. My dad asked him rather jokingly if there's anything "juicy" he can pass on to the public. Gates smiled and told him to look out for some big things happening in Russia in the coming weeks.

3 weeks later, the Berlin Wall came down.

Pretty interesting guy. I may not agree with him entirely, but Obama could do worse.

I've been a little miffed at some of Obama's choices so far, but it was nice reading Glenn Greenwald today to help me put things back into perspective a bit more on Obama and the netroot progressives:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenw...bama/index.html

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

So is BO basically just going to nominate the entire failed-presidential democratic field to be his cabinet? We've got Biden, Clinton and Richardson on the ticket now. Will Kucinich be secretary of douchebaggery? Call me skeptical but the candidate of change is recruiting all of the non-change candidates aboard.

quote:

Originally posted by Shakka So is BO basically just going to nominate the entire failed-presidential democratic field to be his cabinet? We've got Biden, Clinton and Richardson on the ticket now. Will Kucinich be secretary of douchebaggery? Call me skeptical but the candidate of change is recruiting all of the non-change candidates aboard.

Skeptical.

You're pretty much alone.

quote:

At a more basic level, 78% of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling his presidential transition, with only 13% disapproving. A majority of Democrats (94%), independents (79%), and Republicans (57%) say they approve. ... One of the most frequent criticisms of Obama's staff selections is that many held key roles in Bill Clinton's administration. To some, that does not reflect the "change" that Obama promised to deliver if elected. Nevertheless, Americans view the Obama-Clinton connection in positive terms, with a slim majority believing Obama's government will be "more effective" with the former Clinton officials in key positions. Only 14% say it will make his government "less effective," and 28% believe it will "not make much difference". Democrats seem particularly unfazed by the number of former Clinton officials in the new administration, as only 3% say his government will be less effective as a result. The vast majority of Democrats say it will be more effective (77%). Republicans are most likely to believe Obama will be poorly served by the former Clinton staffers (28%), but the plurality of Republicans say it will not make much difference. http://www.gallup.com/poll/112804/O...High-Marks.aspx

quote:

Obama enemies are cheering It’s been Republicans who’ve been heaping praise on Obama’s national security and economic teams – at times gushing more than even some Democrats. Republicans spent much of the year portraying Barack Obama as a socialist and weak-kneed appeaser who would kowtow to America’s enemies. Not anymore. It’s been Republicans who’ve been heaping praise on Obama’s national security and economic teams — at times gushing more than even some Democrats. The GOP is finding little to criticize in Obama’s choices, defanged, in part, because their earlier charges of radicalism have been rendered inoperative by the individuals Obama has appointed. Honeymoon aside, it’s not hard to see why Republicans are flummoxed: Obama has, so far, tapped a range of figures who are not only ideologically moderate but are serious and respected leaders in their field. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16152.html

It is not any surprise that Obama's approval ratings overall are almost the exact reversal of Bush's. Time for you 23%ers to get out and support your black secret-terrorist socialist President.

quote:

Originally posted by Shakka So is BO basically just going to nominate the entire failed-presidential democratic field to be his cabinet? We've got Biden, Clinton and Richardson on the ticket now. Will Kucinich be secretary of douchebaggery? Call me skeptical but the candidate of change is recruiting all of the non-change candidates aboard.

Actually, I think it's brilliant and does represent a good deal of change. In the past the winner of a Presidential election has shunned his defeated opposition - Obama is showing that he is serious about creating a unified government in Washington that is going to roll up its sleeves and devote its energy toward tackling real issues that affect Americans instead of the constant in-fighting and bickering that have stagnated governance in the last few administrations.

___________________

bump

Looks like Obama saved all the hippie liberals for Energy and Environment. (yay!)

Secretary of State - Hilary Clinton
Secretary of the Treasury - Timothy Geithner
Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
Attorney General - Eric Holder
Secretary of the Interior -
Secretary of Agriculture -
Secretary of Commerce - Bill Richardson
Secretary of Labor -
Secretary of Health and Human Services - Tom Daschle
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development -
Secretary of Transportation -
Secretary of Energy - Steven Chu
Secretary of Education -
Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Eric Shinseki
Secretary of Homeland Security - Janet Napolitano
Chief of Energy and Environmental Issues - Carol Browner
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - Lisa Jackson


other:
UN Ambassador - Susan Rice
White House Counsel - Greg Craig
Chief of Staff - Rahm Emanuel
White House Press Secretary - Robert Gibbs
Senior Advisors - David Axelrod, Pete Rouse, Valerie Jarrett

quote:

Bill Richardson Withdraws as Commerce Secretary-Designate The commerce secretary-designate has withdrawn his nomination because of an investigation into whether Bill Richardson exchanged New Mexico state government contracts for campaign financing. Bill Richardson is withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary, FOX News confirmed Sunday. Richardson, who will remain governor of New Mexico, is facing a federal grand jury investigation into whether he exchanged government contracts for contributions to three Richardson political committees. Richardson denies any wrongdoing but the investigation won't be finished before he has to go to a Senate confirmation hearing. "Let me say unequivocally that I and my administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," Richardson said in a statement. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process." Obama said he was accepting Richardson's request to withdraw with "deep regret." It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time," the president-elect said in a statement. "I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration." The Associated Press reported last month that a grand jury is investigating whether the California firm CDR Financial Products paid to push through a contract with the state of New Mexico. Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh told FOX News that with the cloud lingering over the Obama transition because of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged attempts to sell Obama's vacated Senate seat, the Richardson nomination would have been another unwanted distraction. Richardson "was going to have a very difficult time getting through this nomination," Marsh said. "People really haven't looked at the Richardson situation and the more they looked at it, the more they realized" confirmation was going to be a problem. Richardson, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, is currently in his second term as governor of New Mexico. He served seven terms as a U.S. representative and was energy secretary and U.S. ambassador to the U.N. during the Clinton administration. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/200...erce-secretary/

oy vey. Lets just get to January 20 already ffs! It couldn't come sooner

quote:

Originally posted by josh4 oy vey.

indeed. another pay for play scandal involving the Democrat establishment...that incidentally Hopenchange wants us to think is actually change

Hopenchange transition team in action:



fail

Last edited by Q5echo on Jan-04-2009 at 21:35