Secretary of Defense Thread - your pick?

[NewJeffCT]

I believe Wes Clark is not eligible.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Bill Ayers.

[BurtWorm]

7. I was hoping he'd be picked for Secretary of Reeducation

:patriot:

[NewJeffCT]

16. I heard Ayers

was going to be put in charge of teaching our kids how to make Molotov Cocktails and other IEDs.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. Not bad.

I wonder how cost effective it is compared to Powell's Leave No Vietnamese Child Alive plan.

[tosh]

2. Heard this morning that Colin Powell has declined.

[bdamomma]

32. next person for position.

[corkhead]

3. oops, never mind

[Ryano42]

13. WES!

Did a good job as SACEUR...also a good DEM...

[billyoc]

4. Bill Ayers.

[Deep13]

5. Why wouldn't Clark be eligible?

Didn't Powell go from Army chief to Sec. of State?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. Def Sec has to be a civilian for 10 years.

[SharonRB]

10. He hasn't been out of the military for 10 years yet.

[krispos42]

12. I'd rather Wes Clark was Nat'l Security Advisor

He's a pretty straight talker, good for an advisor who operates mostly in private, bad for a Secretary of Defense.

[pleah]

6. Wes Clark.

[bemildred]

11. Indeed, a good choice. nt

[trof]

44. That was my first thought too.

[yurbud]

8. Wes Clark or Gary Hart. I would disqualify anyone who sits on an oil company board like Nunn

[Overseas]

14. Bottom Line -- NOT A REPUBLICAN. That reinforces old myths.

Republican old propaganda is that they are better at national security. The record shows however that Republican administrations have pushed war upon us and broken international laws and treaties and engaged in very wasteful military spending and bankrupted our economy.

SO DON"T REWARD REPUBLICAN MYTH-MAKING BY APPOINTING THEM TO EITHER THE DEFENSE DEPT OR THE ECONOMY.

[grantcart]

20. I disagree - if we are going to make a lot of cuts into the defense department on

exotic and expensive defense systems it will need a bipartisan voice and Hagel would be more effective on selling it.

[Overseas]

39. But it feeds into the fake Republican argument-- Dems can't do defense. They need Repubs.

It just does support that myth and I am so tired of that myth because it is so untrue. Reinforcing that old lie again does not help our party. CLINTON APPOINTED A REPUB TO DEFENSE. So it would be doubly like AHA, Dems are weak on Defense. They need Repubs. ENOUGH WITH THE OLD MYTHS. No thanks.

Hagel will be helpful in selling the Pentagon cuts but he doesn't have to be bribed to do so. If he wants to be a great party elder for the Republicans, he can sell the cuts to his party so they can reclaim the mantle of fiscal responsibility.

REPUBLICANS HAVE MADE US LESS SECURE AND LESS FINANCIALLY STABLE they should not be rewarded for that.

[Maven]

29. Totally agree.

And not homophobe Sam Nunn either.

[BobRossi]

15. Tommy Chong.

Bruce Springstein for Secretary of State.

[arcadian]

18. To those who voted Colin Powell: Are you people fucking insane?

How can you apologize for this blatant war criminal? Unbelievable.

[rucky]

19. Somebody that's never been in my kitchen.

[NewJeffCT]

24. that must eliminate my entire list then

}(

[grantcart]

21. Hagel - if we are going to make significant reductions in the defense department

and cut out exotic expensive tactical and strategic systems it will be easier to sell if Hagel is the SOD. Not just because he is a Republican but because when he gets into a fight he is as tough as nails.


Of course if they are not going over big cuts then a Democrat would be preferred, but I would rather have the cuts and a Republican.

[NewJeffCT]

28. good point

It might take a Republican to get it through a filibuster.

[SteppingRazor]

22. Reed would be excellent. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

23. Hard to decide between Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel, but we need Reed

in the Senate, and Obama is going to need a token GOPer, so I picked Hagel. He has been a very competent executive in the past, from what I've read, and shares Obama's vision on military/foreign policy. Plus, it would be a nice concession for Biden, who is buddies with him.

[bdamomma]

36. yea, that's true if Reed accepted or was considered.

his seat in RI would need a replacement. Hagel would be good.

[dave29]

25. Dick Cheney

:hide:

[sammytko]

26. How about former Sen Bob Karry or General Shekesvelli ?

I know I spelled his name wrong...

[TwilightGardener]

31. Bob Kerrey was the first Democrat to bring up the Muslim/Madrassa bullshit

against Obama, on Hillary's behalf. I have the feeling Obama would appoint him to Secretary of White House Toilet Sanitation, or something equally prestigious.

[sammytko]

34. is this the Muslim bs quote?

I like the fact that his name is Barack Hussein Obama, and that his father was a Muslim and that his paternal grandmother is a Muslim." He continued, "There's a billion people on the planet that are Muslims, and I think that experience is a big deal." Kerrey later wrote a letter of apology to Obama, saying: "I answered a question about your qualifications to be president in a way that has been interpreted as a backhanded insult of you. I assure you I meant to do just the opposite." Obama has said that he accepted Kerrey's apology

[TwilightGardener]

35. Yep--he immediately disappeared from the Hillary campaign after that one.

[Perky]

27. Keep Gates around to wind down Iraq while Hagel looks at retooling as a Secretary in Waiting

[NewJeffCT]

30. I think that may happen

or, at least have Gates stay on a few extra weeks as an assistant.

[no name no slogan]

33. Donald Rumsfeld

:hide:

[eleny]

37. Not a Republican and not one of our sitting senators

Now I'm stumped. But definitely not a Republican.

[NewJeffCT]

40. Plenty of choices

Sam Nunn
Bob Kerrey
Gary Hart
Richard Danzig
Max Cleland

[eleny]

41. Good list!

I know that Sam Nunn is not well liked here at DU - and with good reason. But it's not a national defense reason.

Nunn, Lugar, John Kerry and Obama have worked closely on the issue of loose nukes. Nunn continues that effort as a life's cause. So he is a good man in that respect.

[NewJeffCT]

42. thanks

I'm sure there are at least as many, if not more, that I missed.

[THUNDER HANDS]

38. Max Cleland

it would be fitting.

[NewJeffCT]

43. evening kick

for more votes

[NewJeffCT]

45. another kick

for more votes