FAU's Kitchen Cabinet (part 2)
Much has happened since I wrote my last entry on this topic.
The Clinton nomination seems to be a done deal (I am very happy) and I was wrong about Sec of Treasury. I do feel Obama missed and opportunity with that last one, but I rather have Geithner than the other names on the short list.
And more rumors are flying about other posts which leads me to part 2:
Secretary of Defense
Part of the reason I was crossing my fingers for Sheila Bair was an answer Obama gave in his 60 Minutes interview. When asked if there would be Republicans in the cabinet he said "yes" without missing a beat. In my mind there were two names who would easily be on that list: Bair and Sec Robert Gates. So now that we know it is not Bair, it is likely that Obama will retain Gates.
This distressed me greatly. I feel like we have a high opionion of Sec. Gates becuase we have such a low opion of his predicessor. Just because Gates is doing better than Rummy does not mean he is the bast man for the job. And there are at least three Democrates who I would argue could do the job better: Wesley Clark, Jim Webb and Sam Nunn.
A mistake tells me that Nunn has said he does not want the job. That's too bad beacause I really like Nunn and think he is pargamatic and a very smart man (and highly respected on the right). Webb seems to like his job in the Senate and as a "blue" seat in a traditionally "red" state there would be pressure to keep him in there. That leaves Clark (who I supported for President in 2004), arguabally a better choice politically: first of all how many prominant former Generals are Democrates and, as a former Hillary supporter isn't he a better fit for the "Team of Rivals" narative.
This also ticks me off for two other reasons: 1) Gates is a politically safe choice because he is well liked by both sides in Congress, but don't we need more right now? At a time when the country is yearing to turn the page on Iraq and get the hell out, why would Obama stick with the current guy just to be politically safe? That would really bug me.
And 2) why is it that the one Republican in a Democratic Administration is always the DoD Chair? Are we saying that our team is not tough enough for the job? Our bench is not that deep? The Dems need to show that they can be strong on National Defense and the "War on Terror" or they will never be able to kee a hold on power long term. We don't need Republicans for babysit us at the Pentagon. The Dems have to take this issue out of the GOP playbook and that starts with naming a Democrat to DoD and capturing bin Ladin (something that Gates has yet been able to do).
Attorney General
I will freely admit that most of what I know about Eric Holder I have
learned in the last few days. Here is a recap for those not in the know:
- He was Deputy AG for part of the Clinton administration and apparently kept the lines of communications to the White House open since Pres. Clinton and AG Reno are rumored to have hated one another
- He was the US Attorney for DC
- He served as an adviser to the Obama campaign
- Of course he would be the first black AG in US history
- Oh, and he signed off on Marc Rich's pardon by Clinton, which became the final "Clinton scandal" trumped up by the right wing media in early 2001
Yeah...I'm gonna call bulls**t on that one. Look, the Rich pardon was not the best, but it was not the worst (Ford has that one locked up for a long time). Here's the thing, Holder's confirmation hearings will be taking place either just before or just after Pres. Bush issues two pardons that are widely expected: Ted Stevens and Louis I. "Scooter" Libby. You can argue the merits of a Stevens pardon (he is 85), but a potential Libby pardon is WAAAAYYYY worse than a pardon for Rich. Marc Rich was a wealthy guy who had some shady dealings and a wife who donated to the Clintons. Libby contributed to outing a member of the CIA's clandestine service as political payback. Me thinks there is a little more quid pro quo in the Libby pardon (you break the law, I'll get you out of it).
On top of that there is our last AG...you know, the one who authored a memo [PDF] expalining how tourture was not a violation of the Geniva convention BEFORE he got the job as the top lawyer. The one who left in disgrace after he fired US Attorneys who would not go after Democrats. Gonzoles basically got a free pass during his confirmation hearings. If he can get confirmed then Holder will sail through. Sorry Sen. Spector, your old pal George dropped the bar REALLY low on this one.
Interesting footnote here: Rich's lawyer from 1985 to 2000? Scooter Libby. Yeah, it's a small world.
OK, sorry for those of you who don't care for my inside politics analysis. I promis to only hit on a few more key appointments in part 3. And some day I'll get back to blogging about my kids.
