This will be a short one this week. That kinda week. Even more so for Gov. Rod Blagojevich. What a week. Senate Republicans to Detroit: Drop Dead. Everyone to Blagojevich: Fuck You!
And yeah, don't we all want to know what is really going on between Blagojevich and Obama. No really, what is their connection? Tell me!
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) says Obama has mishanded the Blagojevich scanda. I agree Obama has mishandled this. I don't know what to think about Obama not being good at dealing with political corruption scandals. Maybe it is a good thing. Just maybe. But that is really neither here nor there.
Obama should learn from this. Move fast, follow your gut, and do the right thing. Just like Obama handling problems in the campaign, he learned fast. So, he's just learning again, this time about acting as more than a great candidate, but rather a great president.
So, what do the people think? Well, it seems Obama is more popular than Bush is unpopular. How about that?
So, can we just take one big fucking breath and let Obama get into office before we hit him with everything? I'm not surprised the GOP does not agree.
Well this entire week was about one thing if you even think about politics: Obama's Cabinet. And from my point of view, so far so (very!) good. I mean, yeah you can pull the Team of Rivals thing. You have Biden (VP), Clinton (SOS), Richardson (SOC). They all ran against him; some too little success (Biden, Richardson) and others coming very close (Clinton), but all still falling short. But I tend to think of it as a Cabinet of Equals. Barack Obama wants and needs smart and capable people, and he does not need to always know everything or be the smartest in the room. And that is always a big plus; humility always is.
David Brooks sums up a lot of what I'm thinking in his Friday column:
"And yet as much as I want to resent these overeducated Achievatrons (not to mention the incursion of a French-style government dominated by highly trained Enarchs), I find myself tremendously impressed by the Obama transition.
The fact that they can already leak one big appointee per day is testimony to an awful lot of expert staff work. Unlike past Democratic administrations, they are not just handing out jobs to the hacks approved by the favored interest groups. They’re thinking holistically — there’s a nice balance of policy wonks, governors and legislators. They’re also thinking strategically. As Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute notes, it was smart to name Tom Daschle both the head of Health and Human Services and the health czar. Splitting those duties up, as Bill Clinton did, leads to all sorts of conflicts.
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As a result, the team he has announced so far is more impressive than any other in recent memory. One may not agree with them on everything or even most things, but a few things are indisputably true.
First, these are open-minded individuals who are persuadable by evidence. Orszag, who will probably be budget director, is trusted by Republicans and Democrats for his honest presentation of the facts.
Second, they are admired professionals. Conservative legal experts have a high regard for the probable attorney general, Eric Holder, despite the business over the Marc Rich pardon.
Third, they are not excessively partisan. Obama signaled that he means to live up to his postpartisan rhetoric by letting Joe Lieberman keep his committee chairmanship.
Fourth, they are not ideological. The economic advisers, Furman and Goolsbee, are moderate and thoughtful Democrats. Hillary Clinton at State is problematic, mostly because nobody has a role for her husband. But, as she has demonstrated in the Senate, her foreign-policy views are hardheaded and pragmatic. (It would be great to see her set of interests complemented by Samantha Power’s set of interests at the U.N.)
Finally, there are many people on this team with practical creativity. Any think tanker can come up with broad doctrines, but it is rare to find people who can give the president a list of concrete steps he can do day by day to advance American interests. Dennis Ross, who advised Obama during the campaign, is the best I’ve ever seen at this, but Rahm Emanuel also has this capacity, as does Craig and legislative liaison Phil Schiliro.
Believe me, I’m trying not to join in the vast, heaving O-phoria now sweeping the coastal haute bourgeoisie. But the personnel decisions have been superb. The events of the past two weeks should be reassuring to anybody who feared that Obama would veer to the left or would suffer self-inflicted wounds because of his inexperience. He’s off to a start that nearly justifies the hype."
Sorry to quote so much, but he just packed a lot into those fews grafs.
Now many are also talking about how could Obama and Clinton ever work together? On and on and on, but is everyone forgetting who is the President? And are you really smarter than Barack Obama, and you are calling out Obama for his choices?
And a few people (me included) were a little pissed (at least at first) that Hillary was getting the Secretary of State job. I mean, the crown jewel! 4th in line in the presidential line of succession!!! But then I took a breath. I wanted Bill Richardson at State, and it seems he is going to instead be at Commerce. But Secretaries of State don't normally stay longer than 4 years. So when, in all likelihood, Clinton steps down at State, Richardson can get the State job while Clinton thinks about running for president in 2016. Clinton would only be 69 on Inauguration Day 2017. While Reagan was also 69 when elected (the oldest President elected) he was less than a month away from his 70th birthday. Hillary would be 69 years and 3 months old to Reagan's 69 years and 11 months.
(And being at Commerce, then State could really put a great face on Richardson's chance at the Presidency. He would only be 69 years and 2 months old on January 20, 2017.)
And they all say Clinton will do everything her-way-or-the-highway style, "pursue[ing] their own agenda -- political and policy-wise -- rather than advocate for the president-elect's preferred issues." It is in the interest of Clinton to follow the leader, as that is how you do the job best. But behind closed doors she can unload all she wants. I'm guessing Obama understands this all too well. And just like in a clip from The West Wing (which is embedded below) they must have worked out a deal for her to plead her case to him till she's blue in the face, but afterwards going out and towing the line 110%. And, call me naive, but isn't that kinda how the government should work?
And to those moaning about the lack of change, too many Clinton people, or the general 'here we go again' meme that always happens with a new President, calm down. People always run on change, not many as much as Barack Obama though, and then the media says little change actually happened. I would say things have changed from Ford to Carter to Reagan to Bush 41 to Clinton and then changed under Bush 43. And in there were really a lot of the same people (Powell, Cheney, Rumsfeld, ect). But what counts is who was in charge.
Point being Reagan and Bush 41. They had a lot of the same people stay on, but it was a very different thing. So it will be with Clinton and Obama. Just think: Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, Obama. All presidents (as of Jan 20, 2009) and it was only twenty years ago this started. 20 years of Bushes and Clinton. Now maybe new leadership can really lead Washington rather than follow Washington. I love Clinton, but Washington led him around by his nose, his hand, or his dick.
While many talk about Obama and both Clinton's as rivals, you have to remember the general election when both Bill and Hillary were in lock step with him. And why would that be different now? They are a team. She's a smart enough and tough enough to not undercut Obama publicly and keep the heat on him in private; like any good SOS. And Bill is smart enough not to piss off Hillary. Remember, his dick. Bill is even opening himself up to oversight and control from Obama so Hillary can get the job. Remember, don't make Hillary mad Bill; it all about his dick.
And speaking of Hillary Clinton, does The West Wing win yet another award at predicting the future? I mean, yeah, she's not from the other party, but she was his bitter rival.
It's just funny. The West Wing was on the cutting edge of where America was going. Like dead on.
So, I want to start a little feature here: Greatness Watch: Barack Obama
Now of course, this is going to be a tad bias, but it will be to keep Obama honest, track his words and discuss his decisions.
This week? It seems Barack Obama is looking at Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. Talk about Team of Rivals. But looking at who else he is eying for seats at his cabinet table, it only becomes more Team of Rivals like. Keeping Robert Gates? Chuck Hagel, Colin Powell, and even John McCain? This is just crazy enough to work.
And it seems he is (so far) balancing Washington experience with outsider change. And, in my one criticism of Obama (which I will get to shortly) for stocking up on too many Clintonites, putting Hillary in the Cabinet would be a very un-Clintonian move. And looking at a few more people even mentioned, I would have to agree with Slate about the need for a real Cabinet of Equals* to really take on a very weak, trouble nation.
As for Hillary, I was always a big fan of Bill Richardson for SOS, but as I listen to more views on the idea, I have become a big fan of Clinton as SOS. From Maureen Dowd to Henry Kissinger, Sen. Jon Kyl, and California's own Govanator Arnold Schwarzenegger, people are agreeing that it would be a good idea. So, you make everyone happy: Obama people (solved Clinton problem), Clinton people (Obama respects her, finally!), Republicans (she ran with a center-right foreign policy), and Democrats (finally healing intra-party wounds).
Now, about Obama posting too many Clintonites to his administration. His is gonna just be Bill Clinton's 3rd term? No. But could those Clintonian voices hold him back from really doing what he promised in the campaign? Hell yes. I give you Rachel Maddow:
But after thinking about it, I have to trust Obama. Over the course of the campaign and this transition I have thought and said several things I wanted Obama to do. Almost 90% of the time (a lot of the time, I'm just making up the figure) within 1-14 days later, he would do it. And the other 10% (again, pulling these %s out of my ass) when he didn't, things later came to light that showed a much better path, which he had taken. So I have learned he knows what he's doing. Not to say he won't make mistakes or have missteps, but he has shown he knows how to get through them. So far, he has a great track record of making smart moves. Now it is a matter of turning smart campaign moves and ideas into smart governing moves and ideas.
Which, as of yesterday, he is well on his way to doing.
Via Change.gov "For the first time, the weekly Democratic address has been released as a web video. It will also continue to air on the radio.
President-elect Obama plans to publish these weekly updates through the Transition and then from the White House."
Well done Mr. President-Elect. Well done. Now all you have to do is continue being perfect and make your own place in history. My guess is you will make it look easy. We shall see. And I'll be here every Sunday to keep watch.
* Cabinet of Equals is what I'm gonna call this group (if it pans out) until it actually gets a name. I like Cabinet of Equals. Slate liked The Genius Cabinet.
So, can we just take one big fucking breath and let Obama get into office before we hit him with everything? I'm not surprised the GOP does not agree.
