03/12: Why I am Increasingly Optimistic about an Obama Presidency, #3
Category: Politics
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
Gates, Clinton, and Jones.
What about Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano, and Susan Rice?
If Holder is no great AG, it won't be the first time we have had an incompetent or a lightning rod or both at that position. Remember, JFK quipped that he was giving the position to his younger brother to get him some experience. Here is a list of AG's. My bet is that Holder will NOT be the worst ever.
Does it really matter who runs DHS? Homeland security strikes me as the ultimate boondoogle (to quote a friend); that is, the star-crossed agency is the epitome of a bloated and ineffective government solution to a vital problem, originally and primarily designed as a CYA.
Susan Rice? Is she related to Condi Rice? Seriously, folks, ambassador to the UN is not exactly where the rubber meets the road in American foreign policy.
But Gates, Clinton, and Jones. In that order:
1. Much more than we had a right to wish for in arguably the most vital department of the government.
2. Much better than the alternatives (Kerry, Richardson, and/or Biden).
3. Marine. Not every Marine is Chesty Puller--but it's a better place to start than Les Aspin.
Are there going to be some egregiously offensive (to us) cabinet picks? Of course. But, then again, we lost. That is one of the unhappy consequences of losing elections.
What about Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano, and Susan Rice?
If Holder is no great AG, it won't be the first time we have had an incompetent or a lightning rod or both at that position. Remember, JFK quipped that he was giving the position to his younger brother to get him some experience. Here is a list of AG's. My bet is that Holder will NOT be the worst ever.
Does it really matter who runs DHS? Homeland security strikes me as the ultimate boondoogle (to quote a friend); that is, the star-crossed agency is the epitome of a bloated and ineffective government solution to a vital problem, originally and primarily designed as a CYA.
Susan Rice? Is she related to Condi Rice? Seriously, folks, ambassador to the UN is not exactly where the rubber meets the road in American foreign policy.
But Gates, Clinton, and Jones. In that order:
1. Much more than we had a right to wish for in arguably the most vital department of the government.
2. Much better than the alternatives (Kerry, Richardson, and/or Biden).
3. Marine. Not every Marine is Chesty Puller--but it's a better place to start than Les Aspin.
Are there going to be some egregiously offensive (to us) cabinet picks? Of course. But, then again, we lost. That is one of the unhappy consequences of losing elections.
Martian Mariner wrote:
I'm not sure I agree about DHS, though. Yes, it is extremely ineffectual, and represents the biggest increase in government since the New Deal. I do think that precisely because of this, it matters greatly who leads it. Past leaders have generally not been aggressive enough in gathering the loose-ends of the department and seem to have waited for explicit Presidential directives to administer the department. I don't know what Napolitano will really do for DHS, but I have a hunch that she'll be grabbing this project by the horns, and hopefully she can wrestle the department into some sort of useful shape.