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Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna
Barack Obama was supposedly an unacceptable candidate because he was inexperienced and not tough enough to fill the oval office. An "empty suit" some called him.
Now he's moving quickly to put together an administration comprised of experienced, tough people. He was accused of being weak in foreign relations, but he's already placed calls and had conversations with nine heads of state; more are scheduled for tomorrow. He was supposed not to have enough experience to be commander-in-chief. But David Petraeus as recently as this morning suggested publicly that conversations be initiated among the middle eastern countries to begin the process of tempering the potentially volatile situation in Iran. Will this include Iran? Syria? Petraeus wouldn't say "no" when asked directly. Was this somehow the result of Petraeus several-hour long conversation with Obama when he visited Iraq a couple weeks ago? Or is this something Petraeus has wanted to do but couldn't under policies of the current commander-in-chief?
Now the Republicans are complaining because of Obama's choice of Rahm Emanuel as his chief-of-staff. He's a tough guy...he won't be nice to us, the GOP says. Other cooler heads like the choice as a steel hammer inside Obama's velvet glove. Not the choice of an empty suit, for sure. Those that know Emanuel say he will be a powerful force in assuring the implementation of Obama's policies.
Speaking for myself--I know there will be some other frequent posters here that will disagree with knee-jerk speed--I'm liking the speed, organization, leadership and , yes, quiet toughness of our new President in managing the transition. We need a new Presidential administration that will hit the ground running to address the serious problems facing our country. We need a President who will surround himself with the best and most experienced minds the U.S. has to offer. He's picked a tough, experienced chief-of-staff and we can soon expect a new Treasury Secretary to begin to address the financial crisis facing the country, I'm sure.
So far, it looks like we're getting exactly what we need.
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As Pres-Elect, Mr. Obama should move forward with great speed. The transition time period is not very long, and there is a lot to put in place. There should be little in the way of position-vetting to do, as most of the Plum Book deals are usually cut prior to the election as means of getting support during the campaign. So, the key folk to fill cabinet-level positions and key agency spots should already be getting their affairs (especially their finances and housing) in order. The Departments and Agencies are waiting for these folk to show up, as transition support teams have already been formed and "caretaker" careerists are already in place in many spots to insure business continues without a hitch.
What is surprising is that "change" now seems to be planned by employing a bunch of the Bill Clinton "old guard." Is this to be a "Clinton-Lite" White House and cabinet staff or new faces with fresh ideas and outlooks?
When Pres. Bush picked a VP running mate and later several cabinet and agency heads who had spots under his father's administration, there were many loud screams from the Democrats against the choices. The arguments were centered around these appointees being G.H.W. Bush "old guard" who were out-of-step with the nation du jour. Experience as such did not seem to matter regarding the Bush appointees - past administrtion relationship was at that time considered detrimental by the "loyal opposition."
Regarding, Gen. Petraeus - he is a professional soldier who respects the chain-of-command. While wearing the uniform he can be expected to provide candid advice, but salute-and-go-forward with any direct order once received from the sitting Commander-in-Chief. The alternative is to resign and retire. He will not make any political comments while on active duty, as that goes against the Code of Conduct.