FAU's Kitchen Cabinet (part 3)
Let's start with the newest rumor that Obama will retain Defense Secretary Gates. I read it first here, and it was all but confirmed here later in the day. Of course, I need to mention that I called this one a few days ago. And really I called this over a week ago in a conversation with my Dad, but only he knows that. Not that it was a tough call, but still, how's that for arm chair analysis?
Needless to say, I remain unhappy with this pick for all the reasons I stated earlier. Now I don't count myself among the "net roots" community, even though my support for Obama and hatred of Joe Lieberman put me generally in their camp. But I gotta say, they have a point here. Obama ran on change and he would not have been a viable candidate during the primaries without his anti Iraq war stance. Now he is holding over Bush's Defense Secretary to get us out of this mess? That is not governing from the center, that is pandering to the right (IMHO).
OK, some final thoughts on other top posts:
Homeland Security
Let's pause for one moment to reflect on the fact that, in America, we have a top division of the government called the "Department of Homeland Security". Is that creepy or what???
The rumored top candidate for this post is Arizona Governor Janet Nopolitano. I don't know much about the Governor except that she was an early Obama supporter and that she runs a boarder state. I am glad to see that Obama is leaning towards a governor for this post and not a Senator. DHS is a rambling mess of different divisions and bureaucracies that have yet to fully integrate in one unit (I believe they are still spread out in different buildings over DC and VA). This post requires someone who can pull the department together and try to make it work. Having a working knowledge of immigration and boarder security will not hurt either.
Now, who was on FAU's short list for DHS? To be honest, no one. I am still not clear what makes a person qualified for this job. I am glad that he didn't go the "police chief" route (I think uber commissioner William Bratton was rumored for the post) since this has to be more than the nation's "top cop". But let's take Nopolitano's qualifications and see who else fits the bill: governor, immigration knowledge, boarder state, key Obama supporter, can run a bureaucracy...hmmmm, nope, no one comes to mind except:
Commerce
Bill Richardson. Poor Bill Richardson. The man I initially supported for President (until I heard him speak). I really have nothing to say about Richardson as Commerce Secretary so let's talk for a moment as to why he might have been passed over not once, but twice.
OK, he may have been Ambassador to the UN (which can be a stepping stone to State), but in a match-up against Hillary there is no way he was going to win that job. I think Sen. Clinton is the right choice for State as I have said before.
But why not DHS? Richardson has all of the qualifications that Nopolitano does and he has the bonus of being a Latino which could help in building bridges to the communities that are directly impacted by US immigration policy. If Richardson tells the Latino community the hard truth (that a secure boarder is the first essential step to immigration reform) it may have more credibility. Plus, he has run a government department and he is a diplomat which may be a useful skill in smoothing over issues between fractions at DHS that likely still exist. Not to mention the media diplomacy needed to repairer the perceptions that the TSA and FEMA are ineffective agencies.
There are two reasons I can think of to pick Nopolitano over Richardson: 1) Obama doesn't trust Richardson or does not think he can handle one of the top jobs or 2) John McCain now owes the 44th President a big favor (or two). Since Nopolitano was likely to challenge McCain for the Senate in 2010 he now has a much easier path to reelection if she is out of the way.
UPDATE: I thought of a third reason: Sen. Clinton is still pissed at Richardson for throwing his support behind Obama and blackballed him for DHS (basically saying "if you want me, he cannot be in a top post"). This may be more than just pettiness since State and DHS have to work together on some difficult issues. She may be so pissed that she wants nothing to do with him (or it could just be petty).
I would say that Commerce is a "fine department", but that would be a lie. It is the place where new Presidents generally put their top crony (exhibit 1 and with all due respect, exhibit 2). It is essentially a political demotion for Richardson and it's really sad if he takes it (Politico suspects that his need to be in the action is why he would agree to this appointment). If he's willing to roll over and take this job then I guess we know why he isn't our next President.
That may be all from me on Obama appointments. In general think he is making the smart picks given the current situation in the country. We don't have time for learning curves and everyone seems to know the lay of the land well enough that they can hit the ground running on 1/20. Of course, one of them is likely to fall apart before they are confirmed, it will be interesting to see who it is.
