If Obama is choosing some people who served in former Democratic administrations

[ruggerson]

because he wants his Presidency to hit the ground running, the only two he has to choose from in the last fifty years are Carter and Clinton.

And many who served Jimmy Carter are now not interested or dead (or Tweety.)

Many talented people served in the Clinton administration, and the fact that they did does not mean their loyalties won't lie with President Obama.

He will have a mix of both the experienced and the rookies, but most importantly, he won't have a slew of yes-men cronies.

He is obviously taking the idea of creating an all star Cabinet very seriously, replete with those who will challenge him and present opposing options.

If you don't think he's doing this carefully, deliberately and well so far, you ain't a student of history.

He has already gotten lightyears beyond this Clinton/Obama paradigm which the media still loves to push.

Have you?

[babylonsister]

1. Thank you. nt

[MadMaddie]

2. Well said!

I would have to say I am pleased with his choices.

[Wetzelbill]

3. the guy has some serious light bulb wattage going on in his head

I really don't try to question him much anymore. I used to think I was smart until I figured out Obama was like 3-4 steps ahead of me all the time.

[BlooInBloo]

4. I don't believe in "the sins of the father" doctrine regarding former Clinton employees...

So no matter how little I think of the Clintons, I don't have a particular problem with these appointments an sich.

Unless, of course, something specific to the apointee comes up. But I'd be surprised if Obama's vetting system would allow that to happen.

[camera obscura]

5. Clearly there's only one solution: Tweety for Secretary of State

I kid, I kid!

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

6. Running the government is not as easy as some think.

If you bring in people without direct experience then the bureaucracy ends up being the real power in the agencies.

God only knows what Bush would have wrought were it not for the fact that the people who actually know how everything works (career civil servants) are mostly Dems.

But after 8 years of Bush a lot of the better career people have left in disgust. (And with Bush's encouragement. There were many efforts to induce careerists into early retirement.)

It is very, very wise to get people who know what's what. (On day one, if I can use that phrase.)

[joshcryer]

7. There's a *reason* the media keeps parroting the Clinton/Obama mythology.

*The people eat it the fuck up.*

See: the blogosphere and liberal/conservative forums.

[DJ13]

8. Where did Clinton get his appointees?

He had no problem attracting talent from outside traditional governmental channels.

I agree that some former Clinton people will be a good thing in transiting to his own government, but more than a few will be the antithesis of the change meme he ran on for two years.

[liberalpragmatist]

9. They were all rookies...

... and they were a big part of why his first two years were such a disaster. NOBODY knew anything about how to work with Congress or get something through. They meant well, but didn't know the ropes, and it caused major problems.

Carter had many of the same problems, relying on people he brought from Georgia.

[DJ13]

10. I understand that, thats why I said "some will be a good thing"

But if Obama loads his administration down with DLC Clintonites it wont be good for Obama in the long run.

Another way of saying it might be, if people really wanted another Clinton Presidency they would have nominated Hillary, so Obama needs to be careful depending too heavily on past Clinton people.

[FrenchieCat]

11. Not every single person working under Clinton was DLC......

[DJ13]

13. True, but enough in the higer positions Obama needs to fill to make it a worry

[question everything]

15. Some were with Carter (nt)

[frogcycle]

12. what battle are you fighting?

You state the obvious as if it were a revelation and then ask if we are enlightened enough to understand. What mythical beast are you fighting?

Or am I missing something? Have people here actually been carping about who PE Obama chooses for his team? Yes, I bet that's it. Well, in that case, you really wasted some good typing. They are self-centered egotistical morans who think they personally coronated him and now get to run his administration. Just tell them to go blow themselves.

:)

[question everything]

16. Read a couple of posts upstread from you

and then, if you have the stomach, just see the many threads here.

[frogcycle]

18. at the risk of repeating myself...

:)

[TwilightZone]

21. I think I like you.

[TankLV]

22. "GO BLOW YOURSELVES!"

there - I just said it...

and if you do - whatever elst you do...

PLEASE TAKE PICTURES!!!

'cause we want to see it...!

[question everything]

14. Besides, many here, and on the holy Kos, cheered when former Clinton

staff and supporters joined Obama from the beginning. So, what, now they have done their job, they worked hard for him, probably convinced many that he is worth electing and now should be thrown to the dogs because they are tainted?

[jillan]

17. Off to the greatest for you!

[BrklynLiberal]

19. K&R

[Hekate]

20. Tsk. How dare you make so much sense?

;-)

Prepare to be piled on.

Hekate