So, What’s Next?
So, you thought politicking was over once the vote happened? There’s been plenty of activity since Nov. 4 and the storylines are getting interesting.
MSNBC’s First Read has this dispatch today:
Obama’s First Test With The Left: The news that Obama is the one mainly responsible for the wrist slap that Lieberman is expected to receive — as well as the continued speculation that the president-elect is inching closer towards selecting Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state — is really going to test Obama’s base.
Many of the true believers aren’t going to be happy campers. Then again, with some pundits suggesting that Obama’s initial moves (picking Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, courting the Clintons) don’t really signal the change he promised to bring to Washington, isn’t it precisely change that Lieberman is about to go unpunished? After all, one of Obama’s messages was to put the bitter partisanship of the last 16 years behind us. Does anyone think that a Clinton or a Bush Administration would be as forgiving?
Also, as Maureen Dowd wrote on Sunday, Obama bringing in Hillary as his secretary of state doesn’t represent the return of the Clintons; it says the opposite. “If you have a president who’s willing to open up his universe to other smart, strong people, if you have a big dog who shares his food dish, the Bill Clinton era is truly over.” One more point about Lieberman going unpunished: Could Obama truly meet with McCain yesterday in a sign of bipartisanship as Obama and Senate Democrats plotted to take away Lieberman’s gavel at the Homeland Security committee? By the way, imagine what this week would be like in the press corps had a more severe Lieberman punishment been on the docket. Talk about your drama.
Check out Maureen Dowd’s column:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/opinion/16dowd.html?_r=1
New York Times today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/us/politics/18clintons.html
Politico:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15703.html
The idea of Obama appointing Hillary Clinton as Secretart of State doesn’t seem to alter his idea of change in the White House to me. I don’t think this means another four years of the Clinton era. As far as the negative things Obama has said against Hillary, I think it’s obvious most of that was done purely out of competition, and the two of them often civially said that they had faith in one another to be the president of the country if they didn’t have the chance to do so themself.
On the other hand, some of the issues they disagreed upon completely like the Iraq War need to be taken into consideration because that wasn’t a diagreement made just for the race. It’s an entire difference of opinion on a topic that the president and secretary should see eye to eye on.
I also don’t think that Bill Clinton should be as big a part of the issue as he seems to be. Of course he and Hillary share their opinions and he and Obama have had some negative exchanges, and that attitude is going to change now that his wife potentially has this opportunity, but I believe the focus should be more on Obama, Hillary, and the other candidates for secretary. If he finds a better candidate he’ll appoint them, because I don’t think he gains anything from appointing Hillary.
Loraine Burger
November 23, 2008
HAHA- I enjoyed the Maureen Dowd’s title: “Team of Frenemies,” how true. I think that Obama is being extremely smart in his decision to bring all the “big dogs” together. Sure, life might be easier if he just picked a loyal group of followers, but what kind of leadership would that be if everyone agreed? It seems like Obama simply understands the true meaning of democracy.
It’s interesting how much focus there is on Bill Clinton with this whole thing. Sure, he has opposed Obama in a multitude of ways but the man was running against his wife, and like we’ve discussed before, I think Bill has lost a lot of his ‘politician’s etiquette” and just seems like he’s reached a mindset of ‘I say what I want.’ And I’m not sure I really think there’s anything wrong with that?
Lots of people, including a lot of points Dowd made, are saying that Obama was preaching change and now he’s filling up his cabinet with people from the past- Clintons and what not. “The man who vowed to deliver us from 28 years of Bushes and Clintons has been stocking up on Clintonites.”
Obviously Obama realizes that the people he’s dealing with- Hillary, McCain- are the most passionate people in the field—obviously. They’re the one’s that ran against him, they’re the one’s that think they have the best answers, why wouldn’t he want to hear them out to ensure the best possible solution to all the problems he’s trying to fix? I think it’s one of the smartest decisions a president has ever made, I just hope it doesn’t turn into a huge clash of agendas and rather a collaborative process.
Solmaaz Yazdiha
November 25, 2008
I think it is smart of Obama to possibly appoint Hilary as his Sec. of State. He’s recognizing that he would have had faith in her had she become President instead of him, and accordingly wants to give her a position because he thinks she is an asset. All the negative comments were out of competition. I think the two of them have the potential to work together well. I feel the same way about Obama’s other cabinet choices thus far.
Kara Deyermenjian
November 25, 2008
Personally I’m on board with Obama if he decides to select Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. I still feel that Obama can bring change to this country whether he has a Clinton behind him or not. The reason I feel that he is surrounding himself with former members of the Clinton administration is because that was a positive time in American history. Surrounding yourself with people who’ve been there before is not a bad idea.
Aaron Fears
November 25, 2008
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
Obama needs his peers to be on his side. The Clintons are very influential and certainly they would not hold back in bashing Obama and his administration if they are not apart of it.
If Obama chooses to include Hillary in his administration, then his entire platform focusing on “CHANGE” will be somewhat of a joke. Including the Clintons and other main players in the Democratic party in his administration would be smart on Obamas part in order to keep them working FOR him and not against him. Also, the Clinton administration was one of the most economically successful administrations in US history. Having the Clintons working with Obama should, hopefully, really jumpstart Obamas term as President.
Nicole Kadey
November 25, 2008
I see Obama’s potential appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State as actually a good indicator of the type of change that he plans to bring to the white house. Reaching out to his rivals shows that he is not trying to unilaterally decide what’s best for America. By putting Clinton in his cabinet after a bitter primary, by meeting with John McCain, by going easy on Joe Lieberman, Obama is sending a message that this administration will be a congregation of political minds from all over the spectrum.
Dan McNamara
November 25, 2008
I think Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State is a brilliant idea for Obama. During the primary season, he was constantly facing verbal attacks from both Bill and Hillary. Now, with Hillary in his cabinet, he is essentially forcing them to be on his side instead of against him.
Also, this could help Obama in the future, when he runs for a second term. Seventeen million people voted for Hillary during the primary season. In four years, it is possible Obama can speak to those voters and say how productive Bill and Hillary are as politicians and convince the voters to vote for him.
Andrew Smith
November 25, 2008
We find it funny that after all of the negative things Barack Obama said about Hillary during their campaigns, now he has done a total 180. His policies and hers quite differ, although in an interview with a Political Science professor, she mentioned that they differ more on domestic policies than international ones.
For someone that campaigned on change, his cabinet is beginning to appear less so, and more a copy of the Clinton administration. Yet, at the same time, he is facing taking over the White House after the lowest approved administration in history. He kind of needs someone who knows what they are doing if he hopes to battle the economy.
Jackie Binkoski, Hollis Smith, Ashleigh Bennett, Andrew Dwan
November 25, 2008
I don’t have a problem with Obama’s pick of Clinton for Secretary of State. I think it’s a smart pick for Obama- as Prof. Fox just said in class, now she won’t be a critic of his administration. The primary race was brutally competitive, and many cited rifts in the Democratic party between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporters. Clinton as Secretary of State could help to mend some of the divisions in the party.
Also, as controversial as the Clintons may be, the rest of the world respects and likes them, and this is an important thing to consider.
Kate Hamm
November 25, 2008
Regardless of the back and forth banter during the primaries, the main goal of both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is to revive a downward spiral the country is currently in. Putting grudges aside, Obama needs to do what is best for the country. The Clinton’s have been there before and were extremely successful.
I understand Obama’s whole campaign was about “Change.” The fact remains, change is only good when it is for the better. The best changes we can make is to put the most capable cabinet together possible. With critics in the mainstream media saying Barack has gone back on his word and is not about change, what did you want him to do? Change America from a democracy to communist country?
Obama understands the true meaning of democracy. He is combining parties and enemies to lead the country. With the input from both sides, it will be a balanced country with strong leadership. That is change.
Kevin Clerkin
November 26, 2008
I think it is a good idea for Obama to bring Hillary on. In my opinion, if Obama is willing to “channel the character of Lincoln and create a team of rivals on his cabinet”, it means he has the bigger picture in mind, and he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. This most likely includes having the best people for the job and if they don’t get along, they’ll learn to deal with it I guess.
The way she talked about Bill Clinton almost made he seem like huffy brat. It was funny.
Elissa
December 1, 2008