Comments on: President Obama Inauguration

[Morgoth]

This thread is to discuss the latest news surrounding the President Elect, Barack Obama (hereafter PE) and his future Administration. Users posting to this thread are asked to keep comments related to the following:

• News on PE's potential new appointees
• Issues regarding transition of power from Bush Administration to PE Administration
• Discussion on the first 100 days of the PE Administration
• What we can expect over the next four years
• Hurdles facing the PE and his team.

News Reporting

• News on PE's transitionary period to be sourced with appropriate links.
• Allegations must be backed up with source material otherwise it's just your opinon.
• Blogs are not reliable sources of information. Please try and source material from MSM.

[Morgoth]

Opened for discussion

[wickedwickedboy]

Well done to the president elect, Obama. He gave a very good speech I thought, not too aggressive, but hitting on all of the important issues. I think it is important to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day - it will take time, but I feel very optimistic about the future. I am wondering if we will have any retirees on the Supreme Court (perhaps Suter, Ginsberg and Stevens). If so, it would be great if he were president at the time as they are all liberals per se and he'd likely keep the court at least as balanced as it is at present.

[birdi86]

So... any thoughts on who will be in the future Obama administration?

[Wab]

While I'd let him enjoy his victory tonight, tomorrow the hard work starts and that includes, as Garrison Keillor says: "Everything he said about the national mess is utterly true and a lot more. And now it is Barack's mess."

And a further caveat for his followers, change won't come now, or from inauguration. What he has to do is "set about the business of disappointing your followers and astonishing your enemies and doing what is right for our country."

Salon

I would also add that he should respect his bureaucracy and whenever possible resist the urge to slot a political appointee into a position better filled by a career civil servant. It might tick of lackeys and donors, but it is sounder.

He would also do well to give himself and his team a week off before doing anything too decisive. Take a break from the hurly burly because it will be the last chance for four years.

[USNAGator91]

He needs Pelosi and Reid to fulfill his campaign promises. They are beholden to some very powerful constituencies and would make it hard not to get their pound of flesh and rewards for their support.

I would hope that he wouldn't delve too deep into the legislative branch for appointees, although I wouldn't be surprised to see a Levin as SECDEF.

I'm thinking there may be slots for the folks that supported him during the campaign.

Look for something for Bill Richardson (SECSTATE?)
Colin Powell? (SECVETAFF)

Other than that, I have no idea what he'll do.

[Chris]

I'd love to see Powell in the administration. In fact, I'd love to see a few Republicans in the administration. I've read a few analyses that probably are worth the weight of the paper they're printed on, but they have Obama moving fast on a few appointees and then taking his time on a few more. I do hope he goes for appointees that both sides can be relatively happy with, in that it will ease his transition.

Obama showed during the primary and election campaign that he knows how to run a tight ship and run it well, so I expect a smoother handover than Clinton experienced in 1992. McCain's very gracious speech and Obama's reaching out during his own speech last night may help a bit with this, too, in that they seem to have been working to build the foundation of a bridge on the two sides of the river, and we'll see if they actually do end up building the bridge.

[SSJ_Jup81]

I hope that there will be some Republicans and Independents in the administration. Obama is trying to promote unity and goes on about how everyone should be working together. It'd be nice if there was a nice even number of all the parties in congress, but I suppose most wouldn't like that.

See, this is why a person like me would make a lousy President. I know I would do something like that to make things balanced and fair.

[purplehawk]

I think there will be Republicans in his administration. The goal is a unified America and an end to "red" and "blue" competing Americas. We've all got a lot of work to do to right our ship of state.

[monster_mom]

Originally Posted by USNAGator91

He needs Pelosi and Reid to fulfill his campaign promises. They are beholden to some very powerful constituencies and would make it hard not to get their pound of flesh and rewards for their support.

I would hope that he wouldn't delve too deep into the legislative branch for appointees, although I wouldn't be surprised to see a Levin as SECDEF.

I'm thinking there may be slots for the folks that supported him during the campaign.

Look for something for Bill Richardson (SECSTATE?)
Colin Powell? (SECVETAFF)

Other than that, I have no idea what he'll do.

Powell's been there and done that. I don't necessarily see him doing it again. I'd envision him more as a senior advisor than staff.

Gator - you're right - Obama's made a lot of promises to a lot of people and he's going to have to deliver on them.

I expect Richardson will get something as will possibly Hagel as the token Republican. I'd bet that Jamie Gorelick will be back in some capacity. Rahm Emanuel's been talked about as COS but I'm not sure if he'd be better suited on the Hill helping Obama as a leader there. The Democrats don't want to risk tehir majorities in either the House or the Senate so I'd expect them to look to the Legislature only in states with a Democratic Governor and strong Democratic support.

[USNAGator91]

Originally Posted by purplehawk

I think there will be Republicans in his administration. The goal is a unified America and an end to "red" and "blue" competing Americas. We've all got a lot of work to do to right our ship of state.

Purple, every administration has a cabinet member of the opposite party. That's the tradition. While the election was a substantial victory, there were still 57 million people that voted for the other guy, just like there were large portions of the electorate that voted for John Kerry and Al Gore. That didn't make the opposite side any more conducive to unifying than this one will.

I doubt very seriously that President Obama will be able to unify the red staters, and I don't think it has anything to do with desire. I'm sure he wants to, but he has to work with Pelosi and Reid, and they are hardly the harbingers of bipartisanship.

Truth be told, I'd much rather Obama select the team he's comfortable with instead of playing the kumbaya song. He won, he deserves the team he wants to execute his agenda. To that end, we'll see a LOT of left of center folks in the cabinet.

I actually like Carl Levin. He reminds me of the late Les Aspin, and seems more inclined to do his duty as a SecDef then looking to push some sort of ideological agenda, but the introspection that Rahm Emmanuel has been asked to be COS is pretty much telling me that an Obama Administration will be as partisan as any that has come before.

[birdi86]

There will definitely be Republicans in his administration because I'm almost certain Chuck Hagel will be in there! He's a friend to Joe Biden and he and Obama worked together on the Nuclear Weapons Threat Reduction Act.

To that end, we'll see a LOT of left of center folks in the cabinet.

That's your opinion and I'm not even sure what you're basing that on. Not on Obama's positions. Obama is a centrist at best he's not nearly as liberal as the Republicans made him out to be. He's for free trade, he doesn't want to abolish the death penalty, he supported funding for the Iraq War even if he didn't vote for it, he isn't a pacifist, he wants to leave gun control up to the states. He's a centrist.

And you certainly didn't get that opinion from reading articles on who might be in an Obama administration - Colin Powell, Chuck Hagel, Tim Kaine, Sam Nunn, Kathleen Sebelius, Dick Lugar. These aren't left-of-center people. Unless we've totally changed the meaning of what the center is.

but the introspection that Rahm Emmanuel has been asked to be COS is pretty much telling me that an Obama Administration will be as partisan as any that has come before.

Why? Because he's a Democrat? That's a bit silly. Most Chief of Staff's tend to be of the same party as the president.

Choosing Emmanuel tells me the exact opposite. For starters, Emmanuel is disliked by those on the left for being too centrist. So Obama went with someone who won't please the Left or the Right or feel beholden to them. I like it already.

And as a recent HuffPo article points out, he's thus unlikely to allow the same mistakes that happened in the Clinton administration - where the Left seemed to run riot at the get-go - happen in an Obama one. Yes, the Left will have a seat at the table but so will the Right and the Center and the Independents.

[monster_mom]

Originally Posted by birdi86

That's your opinion and I'm not even sure what you're basing that on. Not on Obama's positions. Obama is a centrist at best he's not nearly as liberal as the Republicans made him out to be. He's for free trade, he doesn't want to abolish the death penalty, he supported funding for the Iraq War even if he didn't vote for it, he isn't a pacifist, he wants to leave gun control up to the states. He's a centrist.

There's nothing centrist about Obama. Check out his actual voting record. He's considered one of the most liberal Senators out there.

Why? Because he's a Democrat? That's a bit silly. Most Chief of Staff's tend to be of the same party as the president.

Choosing Emmanuel tells me the exact opposite. For starters, Emmanuel is disliked by those on the left for being too centrist. So Obama went with someone who won't please the Left or the Right or feel beholden to them. I like it already.

Emanuel? Centrist? I'm not so sure about that. Here's a slightly different take on him from NRO.

Levin He is smart and tough. But he has been, in both positions [as Clinton staffer and House member], a vicious graceless partisan: narrow, hectic, unremittingly aggressive, vulgar, and impatient. Those who have worked for and with him come away impressed but not inspired, and generally not loyal. The White House chief of staff is not a chief strategist or a chief advocate. He is a manager of people and of process. Above all else, he sets the tone internally, and shapes the president’s decision process and the feel of the upper tiers of the administration. Obama is especially in need of someone who will lead him to decisions, because he appears to be intensely averse to making difficult choices—which is the essence of what the president does. His inclination is to step back and conceptualize the choice out of existence, looking reasonable but doing nothing. To overcome this, he will need a chief of staff with a sense of the gravity of the choices the president faces, and one capable of moving the staff to decision, keeping big egos satisfied and calm, and resisting the pressure to be purely reactive to momentary distractions. None of this spells Rahm Emanuel.

Obama may have selected Emanuel for his fiery toughness to help him face the challenges he has ahead. But Rahm Emanuel does not evoke images of still waters and bi-partisan inclusion.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/pos...ZjODZlNTY1YmE=

[Klio]

Well.... I am sure we'll hear announcements of the first appointments soon enough.... no need to get into a dispute over potential facts when we can get into a nice discussion of actual appointments soon enough....

How about that?



I don't know - but Barack Obama has surprised me a few times in the last months, and as an avid US watcher I wouldn't take any assumption for granted....

[mariebeth83]

Originally Posted by USNAGator91

Truth be told, I'd much rather Obama select the team he's comfortable with instead of playing the kumbaya song.

I'm actually in total agreement with you on that point - I feel he needs to put together a team that he is comfortable with, a team that he can work with and isn't afraid to act the boss with - in the current economic climate all over the world he's going to need to stand up and say "this is what we're going to do" rather than asking whether that's okay with them.

[Jessica]

I think Obama needs to surround himself with the best people he can find regardless of party. His own relative lack of experience makes his team even more critical in my opinion. I'd like to see him find a team of people who really know the posts they'll fill and actually listen to them.

Not that he needs to do everything they say, at the end of the day he's still going to be the President but I think a cabinet of yes men and women would be a critical misstep for him.

[lindaluna]

Apparently Rahm Emmanuel has agreed to be White House Chief of Staff.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/2008...039-choice.htm

Obama has announced a transition team that will go through "a process". I see satire on that phrase coming.
http://canadianpress.google.com/arti...lZnmZzGgmLLVAw

This takes him out of the running to replace Obama in the Senate.
I saw Jesse Jackson Jr on TV saying: yes he does want it.

Apparently Democratic Governor Bla------ has set up "a process" to decide who will get the nod.

Rep. Clyburn was talking about the absense of Asian Americans in the House & Senate. One theory is that if JJJ gets it, his Congressional seat might be filled with by the female Filipina Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq veteran & amputee, who spoke at DNC, or she might get the Senate seat. She is currently Illinois Veterans Director. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...,5281003.story

There are theories it should be an African American like Obama (or the US Senate will be AA free !). The Dem. Gov. says he wants someone who will fight for Illinois (does that mean 'not an Obama man?'). There is also a theory he might offer the appointment to a potential competitor to him in the next election ... getting him out of the way.

Emil Jones is State Senate Majority Leader (D), well respected & was Obama's mentor. He's also older generation, a generation that had to focus their attentions locally, not nationally. To me, it would be a tremendous nod to the accomplishments & skills of that generation.

Jesse Jackson Jr. is a Congressman for Illinois, and represents them (I think) well, and is also an Obama supporter. All I can think of for him is the albatross of Jesse Jackson Sr.. But he would be on the Senate side, not Obama side ...

Hard to know. The IL Dem Gov.'s "process" was announced this afternoon.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=248575

Apparently when Obama won Federal Senate, he stepped aside from his State Senate seat within 4 days, so it may be quick.

[Klio]

Well, I hope that Obama of all people is free to choose his people by suitability and not solely to produce the right colour spectrum.

Although it would of course be nice if he could throw his net wider than the usual suspects which, IMHO, would probably make for a more colourful group of people in any case.


but then - if we assume that he has to go for very experienced people we should probably expect a core team plus some advisers who are mainly White Anglo-Saxon males, simply because those are the people who have actually been around, and if he wants experience he'll have to fall back on them.

I am curious whether he proves me wrong - but I hope people don't have too many expectations that Obama will single-handedly turn the Administration into a body that's representative of the population as a whole (in terms of ethnic background).




Of course, the advantage is that an US president gets to replace such a large number of people (in the Uk most staff are civil servants who are politically neutral and stay in post)..... that means that he can change a lot in term of ethnic mix..... but right at the top that will be harder, IMHO.

[purplehawk]

Originally Posted by monster_mom

There's nothing centrist about Obama. Check out his actual voting record. He's considered one of the most liberal Senators out there.

He isn't, but, even if he was, liberal is no longer a bad word with this year's electorate or with the coalition Obama has formed.

Emanuel? Centrist? I'm not so sure about that. Here's a slightly different take on him from NRO.

That's to be expected, I suppose. I heard a video of Karl Rove proclaiming Rahm as "too partisan" to be chief of staff. If that's true, Rove shouldn't have been allowed inside the White House during Bush's term in office. Yet there he was, wielding power in the West Wing for six years or so. That NRO diarist is pretty partisan himself.

Purple, every administration has a cabinet member of the opposite party. That's the tradition. While the election was a substantial victory, there were still 57 million people that voted for the other guy, just like there were large portions of the electorate that voted for John Kerry and Al Gore. That didn't make the opposite side any more conducive to unifying than this one will.

Did Bush appoint one?

[Redhart]

hehehe...I live with a guy that thinks Obama is not far enough left. So, if people on the left think he's far to the right and people on the right think he's too left, he must be just right

I'm sure Barack will pick the right people for the job. The main thing is, they can do the job that they are chosen for and work in concert with all the political (and non-political) entities they need to.

I very much hope he does not listen to the National Review, but I'm not worried about that possibility.