Your 2008 Obama Cabinet/Appointments Speculation Thread

Ambassador to the UN: Bill Clinton?

Secretary of State: Richard Holbrooke

Hils for SCotUS

jesse jackson jr
bill richardson
susan rice
chuck hagel
artur davis
chris dodd
max cleland

bill ayers
angela davis
abbie hoffman
malcolm x

osama bin laden

yeah i am more interested in sup. ct. appointments but i don't really know how those happen. there are a lot of judges.

hills says no but her ego says yes

and it's not a bad thing in this instance

I thot she was gunning for majority leader. I personally would prefer Dodd or Feingold in that role, but there you go.

I'm wondering if Richardson and Gore will get seats, special or not

Job 4 Life vs. Majority Leader for ?????? years?

i don't think obama would appoint hillary to the court or that she would accept

ffs, stop being so cocky.

mentally prepare yourselves for some bradley effect/israel bombs iran scenario or you'll be suicidal on election day if mccain wins. REALLY don't get yr hopes too high, it's not over yet.

I think Hills for SCOTUS would be great. I mean, I think she'd be best in a position where she doesn't have to "do" politics.

ugh xpost

i do not think she would be great, at all. but better than half the people on the court, obviously

never underestimate human stupidity.
xpost

I imagine Robert Gates will remain at the Pentagon and Patraeus will be appointed CJCS (however, I don’t believe this will be immediate.) Both are clearly the two most qualified people for the respective positions and both strike me as having personalities that would mesh well with an Obama administration (i.e. drama free intellectuals).

That aside, I have no idea. Nothing posted so far seems plausible. As both candidates have mentioned a new treasury secretary needs to have the confidence of the taxpayers, which makes many of the names that have come up in the past (nerds) implausible. Buffet, all politics aside, does seem likely.

it won't be Buffett

There is an old tradition, that weakened as the 20th century progressed, of appointing senior politicians with a judicial temperment to the SCOTUS. HRC might fit into that mold, but I'm not sure one way or the other. I want Thurgood Marshall back, dammit!

CQ speculates

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/7788/obdemcxr2.jpg

Hils for SCotUS

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― Johnny Fever, Friday, October 17, 2008 5:33 PM Bookmark

My mom (who was an Obama supporter in the primary, and who says Hilz pissed her off with her "stand by my man" act) has said this a couple times to me. I don't really have any problem with the idea.

I do - it will do nothing but aggravate the continuous stream of "the judges are political hacks legislating from the bench!" talk. I mean come on. You want to put one of the most divisive figures in American politics in one of the most divisive offices in the government?

It would be a fitting payback for Clarence Thomas.

I think Hills for SCOTUS would be great. I mean, I think she'd be best in a position where she doesn't have to "do" politics.

have you such contempt for the law?

if the dems get 60 who gives a shit what the republicans think

Maybe beneath years of dogged political hackwork, HRC has published legal work that would put her at the level of George Sutherland, Hugo Black, and William O. Douglas -- three justices with long careers in the legislature and who weren't shy about flaunting their political affiliations -- but I doubt it.

i don't think the problem is that she's divisive, she would be no matter where she was, and it doesn't matter what people think, yeah. the "legislating from the bench" garbage will go on without her, too. i just think it would be shitty. i think there are probably plenty of qualified women judges who deserve to be there and nothing about her says supreme court i guess. it would look like a consolation prize for being beaten in the primary. i also really don't like her.

anyway i don't think obama would appoint her if stephens kicked the bucket

Obama may very well dangle a Cabinet position, but she won't accept. She's gonna keep a sharp eye on him through 2012.

Steinem was on Oprah yesterday saying "I wanted 8 years of Hilary followed by 8 years of Obama. Now, God willing, we'll get 8 years of Obama followed by 8 years of Hilary!"

lol dowager hilz

there is a decent chance that Sonia Sotomayor would be appointed to the Court

Sotomayor. And, no. Sorry pal.

Chuck Hagel isn't running for re-election; he would be a good fit somewhere, maybe Sec of State.

Sotomayor

that's what I said

gore for EPA chief. would he take it? I'm sure he'd be asked.

I don't think he'd be asked, but he'd definitely be asked for a list of potential names.

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/the-democratic-not-so-short-list/

if Clarke hadn't already made it clear he wasn't interested in going back into government, he'd be the new cyber security guy for certain. Karen Evans will most likely not be keeping the OMB spot. Look to senior CSIS tankers for other positions, they're apparently big with Obama. Most important to me: http://www.csis.org/tech/cyber/

I suspect Homeland is going to be gutted under Obama/Biden/Reid/Pelosi. Good riddance. This has big natl security and energy implications for the Treasury and Transportation appointments.

btw everybody who is all don't count your chickens can eat me. My main concern, because enthusiasm is cousin to paranoid, was the bobby scenario: I went to see him in Columbus at an open air rally with so many scary sightlines I thought the USSS must be crazy to let him do this. Then I saw how they handle shit. The man will not be taken down. Additionally, at this point, McCain could catch Osama Bin Laden alive in an open-field tackle next week at a football game, pick up the fumble and run it in for a touchdown against evil, and he'd still lose because 1. he looked unpleasant doing it and 2. WHUT ABAWT MAH JAWB.

McCain could catch Osama Bin Laden alive in an open-field tackle next week at a football game, pick up the fumble and run it in for a touchdown against evil

Yeah, I might still not vote for him, but that I'd love to see.

http://i11.tinypic.com/53ucxtl.gif

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/09ejbGJ97l6Y4/610x.jpg

http://techblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/10/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-report.html

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/the_obama_transition_dont_forg.php

I could pour out a thousand words about that Ambinder post, but I’ll settle with a few comments:

- Assuming Ambinder’s ‘rumint’ is correct: Danzig presents a bizarre choice for the post. However, it is not absurd to assume he would be asked. If I were to guess, I would say that Gates would stay on and I imagine that he would be on the top of an Obama administration's list. However, Obama will be facing an even greater Democratic majority who will undoubtedly include members who will insist a liberalization of the Pentagon. Danzig would provide this. I suspect Danzig’s name won’t be the only one we’ll hear in the next few weeks, or months to clutter the field.

- John Kerry should not be secretary of state. At this point, is this a debate worth having?

- A ‘CTO’ would be nothing more than a lobbyist for the Valley. Also, who would want Google baggage? Schmidt hardly adheres to the “no drama” policy.

- Deval Patrick’s name floating for attorney general is a nice gesture but little more.

- Buffet: this is real. He’s beginning to campaign and, while I’m only 24 I’ve never seen Buffet not get what he wants. I also suspect that he’d be a great choice.

- Ron Noble is an obvious and acceptable choice.

- Everything else is absurd. Cass Sunstein and Robert Sussman less so, but still absurd.

yeah I figure, I mean, Ambinder, lol.

Buffett for treasury would be fan fucking tastic.
also schmidt for CTO could be really highly entertaining/4 teh lulz. US GOVT BUYS TWITTER. think what he could do for cspan.

Danzig v. impressive in a recent campaign appearance, with solid answers on Africom & a whole host of issues. I played the ex-Marine card to buttonhole him one-on-one re Korea, and asked him straight up about SoD. His answer was political.

where does Chris Hughes go? He's a kid and an entrepreneur, does he found another business, go back to facebook or get a job in the DNC or the govt?

A fresh link for consideration:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4507&page=0

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/15142.html

The rumors out of Littauer are getting a bit out of hand. Two things that are being repeated: Summers is a shoe-in and his appointment will be announced this week (with a possible MTP appearance on Sunday).

is Henry Wallace dead?

Maybe beneath years of dogged political hackwork, HRC has published legal work that would put her at the level of George Sutherland, Hugo Black, and William O. Douglas -- three justices with long careers in the legislature and who weren't shy about flaunting their political affiliations -- but I doubt it.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Saturday, October 18, 2008 2:56 AM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

when was William O Douglas in the legislature?

Did you know he was responsible for breeding the breed of chicken that is the most commonly-used chicken for egg laying purposes?

when was William O Douglas in the legislature?

He wasn’t. He was at the SEC and served as an economic adviser to FDR. He was also chairman of the SEC for a year or two prior to being appointed. The point is correct however, he was a staunch partisan--an oddity considering his position.

Douglas semen made my breakfast???

oh God Almighty. (this thread)

Howe did that I Love Politics creation poll work out? plz tell me yer all going.

Joe Biden - Ambassador to Afghanistan

He wasn’t. He was at the SEC and served as an economic adviser to FDR. He was also chairman of the SEC for a year or two prior to being appointed. The point is correct however, he was a staunch partisan--an oddity considering his position.

Yeah, it was my mistake, but THIS was my point. Thanks.

god why are you doing this????????? too early!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, the fact that the bulk of this thread is about the alleged possibility of a legislator with no particular background as a legal scholar and zero experience as a judge and a CV that, law-wise, makes Harriet Miers look like a perfectly normal choice being nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States of America = CRAZYPANTS

^uh OTM. BBC reported yesterday that Rahm Emanuel shaping up to be Chief of Staff.

I fully support Glen Danzig as Secretary of Defense.

lol vikings fan

Here’s three more Littauer rumors I’ve heard today (prior to voting!!) that I found improbable but interesting: Summers will be appointed soon. Prior to November 15th when Senate resumes for their lame duck session; Jason Furman will be appointed to replace Jim Nussle in a similar timeframe; Obama will hold a joint press conference with the President to announce bailout policy that will begin immediately (prior to the inaugural).

I don’t believe in any of this but people are talking if this is last week’s news (i.e. people are weird).

I posted this in the other thread, but Greenwald frets about Beltway insiderism infecting Obama cabinet pics.

god why are you doing this????????? too early!!!!!!!!!!!

― M@tt He1ges0n, Monday, November 3, 2008 10:45 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

cabinet_pic.jpg

Greenwald is not being realistic. Many cabinet positions require a high-amount of beltway and insider acceptance to properly function (e.g. Wall St. confirms treasury appointments and Iran, et. al. confirms Secretary of State and Defense appointments).

Obama is not an idiot. He saw the result of the President’s ABC policy and the setbacks it caused. I imagine he’ll do his best to attempt not to not make the same mistake. That said, Gates, Summers, and many of other names in the mill are, in some cases staunchly partisan but consistent independents. Gates for instance is increasingly apathetic toward American politics and Summers, while Clintonian in many respects served as Bill Clinton’s foil on numerous occasions.

There is a point where politics has to leave the debate and for many issues, that day is today. However, I do understand how the left will react and I don’t expect the best (I’m still insulted about ‘General Betrayus’).

For me the model of a successful first-term executive operation is Reagan's. If he appoints a troika as skilled as those guys (none of whom were insiders; those he left to the Cabinet), he'll avoid a Clinton and Carter-esque relationship with the Congress.

I agree ... to a point. Reagan did appoint Alexander Haig, Donal Reagan and James Watt.

I was about to say...

yeah david stockman was a real winner

tho i guess he wasn't a cabinet level appointee

tho i guess he wasn't a cabinet level appointee

The OMB is a cabinet-level office.

That said, I do agree with his point. By ’83 or ’84 the administration was far more functional than the President’s and Clinton’s.

It appears we have our first cabinet appointee: Rahm Emanuel.

Is that official? Cus he just won reelection?

...ya know?

i wish we had ILpolitics

so yeah they're saying rahm for chief of staff. probably not a bad call. always struck me as a guy who knows where the bodies are (and put some of them there).

the right-wing reading of this will be, 'oh here come the brass-knuckles chicago guys.'

(right-wing reading otm.)

Might help lock up some of those reluctant Jewish voters in FL for 2012 (assuming some segment of the Jewish vote is still reluctant and chief of staff actually has any direct impact on electoral politics).

I would love it if John Kerry was appointed to some top post!

Tombot, you said above that after watching the secret service in action, you were unafraid for O's safety. What exactly did you mean?

I agree ... to a point. Reagan did appoint Alexander Haig, Donal Reagan and James Watt.

Um, I specifically said the "troika" (Baker-Deaver-Meese).

John Kerry is pretty much O's political benefactor, hand-picked him to give that address in 2004, within reason he can do whatever job he likes but State, dunno.

RAHM EMANUEL IS MY COLLEGE HOMEBOY, the CoS has a Sarah Lawrence BA, which in my lifetime WHOA. bouncebouncebounce!

oh thats cool that the chief of staff went to ur little lib arts school guess what the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES went to mine!!!!

the right-wing reading of this will be, 'oh here come the brass-knuckles chicago guys.'

Yup.

i hope emanuel is not chief-of-staff. i don't like him.

too late

well, that didn't take long. Rahm is a fu--

no, it's Wednesaday, Day of Peace.

I know, he IS a funky dancer, but how is that relevant?

ok so i saw joe's novel is being ghosted by one "thomas n tabback"

if you google "thomas n tabback" you see that the first result is now joe the plumbers website

Things Forgotten: A Novel by Thomas N. Tabback - Home
Things Forgotten: A Novel By Thomas N. Tabback: A story about one man's spiritual journey back 3200 years to the period of the Israelite Conquest of Canaan; ...
www.secureourdream.com/ - 9k - Cached - Similar pages

basically dude got "secureourdream.com" to promote his own book and then turned it into the joe the plumber site lol

LOOK FAMILIAR??

http://thingsforgottenbook.com/

lol the link at the bottom of "secureourdream.com"

Home Contact Us
Copyright © 2008 PearlGate Publishing, LLC

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/TNT/My%20Documents/secureourdream.com/web-data/SiteTrash/bookstore/index.php

max, Oxy producing a President who was a former student is just as WHOA but cancel the gloat, dude transferred looking for more challenging studies. XD joeks, son

kind of hoping treasury doesn't go to larry summers.

:-/ suzy dont tell that to the board of trustees/administration who have whipped up this graphic

http://www.oxy.edu/images/Managed/frontphoto_home_obama.jpg

haha SLC has long been on that tip with Yoko Ono '51 (she never graduated with a BA).

LOL at the way O appears to have 'uh, waitaminute, I checked out in '81' as facial expression due to text placement by eager Photoshopper who somehow found a photo of him with a specific lack of 'beatific'.

it's cool, I'll take not-quite alum Obama over actual grad jack kemp

kind of hoping treasury doesn't go to larry summers.

― goole, Wednesday, November 5, 2008 5:22 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah.

What? Why?

I’d love to hear a better suggestion ...

There’s only a few people who are equipped to handle our current crises long-term and Summer’s happens to be the only one with previous management and government experience. He’s the right guy.

Summers’, christ. I’m drunk.

My point still stands however

summers is probably all right on paper but the atmospherics are bad (his time at harvard was not exactly no-drama) and it'd be nice to have someone who's got the economics goods, who is somewhat outside the wall st/federal revolving door. i know that's a list of nearly zero...

josh marshall:

Am I missing something or are there like four or five completely independent reasons not to appoint Larry Summers Treasury Secretary? I'm really having a hard time understanding this one.

Just at the level of optics, since the economy is issue number one right now (and not just the real economy of jobs and living standards but the financial architecture itself) and you're trying to look forward not back, why would you pick someone for Treasury who was not only in the Clinton administration but was actually Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration. Not understanding that.

Next, management shortcomings and controversial statements about women's brains that got him canned as President of Harvard.

And on top of that, the new Treasury Secretary will be charged with instituting a beefed up framework of financial sector regulation. But Summers was a key player in the 1990s deregulatory consensus that laid the groundwork for a lot of these problems. Not that that makes him verboten -- a lot of other people did too. But it does create an element of of cognitive dissonance going into the job.

I'm not sure any of these strikes against would be determinative in themselves. Perhaps each taken together would not be if the crisis of the moment demanded Summers. But is he really the only one available?

I don't mean that in a snarky or denigrating sense. Clearly, Summers is an extremely bright and accomplished guy and a highly respected economist. But really, he's the only person with the economist chops and political instincts to manage this arduous task?

Jon Corzine voted quite decently while he was in the Senate, for a Master of Wall Street. I suppose I wouldn't mind him at Treasury.

Aside from Kerry at State, most of the other stuff I've read makes me wanna puke.

thats funny cuz kerry as sec of state makes me most want to puke

that's cuz you're trying to get down to 106 lbs.

only slight regurgitation here.

what do ppl think of chuck hagel? is he really as smart/thoughtful/liberal on foreign policy as the nyer piece paints him to be, or is he the new john mccain, i.e. press in love w/ moderate republican who is also kind of a huge asshole

Hagel is very conservative on everything. He just happens to be a "realist" in foreign policy rather than a neo-conservative. Hagel would be a choice that intended to demonstrate Obama's bipartisan bona fides, and bring along the professional foreign policy establishment with whatever adventures Obama wants to take us on. I suspect this is an area where we Obama supporters on the left are going to need to be convinced, very soon, of what Obama has in mind.

and by "need to be convinced", I mean that the onus is on Obama and his team, not on us.

Summers is a complete cock. He has the manners of a retarded, incontinent kitten.

i don't want to give up safe Dem Senate seats. I do want to give up Republican senate seats (not Hagel, but Lugar, maybe).

Summers may be a hangout to gauge reaction to a number of things, and not just for the Treasury post. If he is in fact the pick I think it's clear it would represent a judgment that he is the smartest guy available.

one reason i think bipartisan cabinet appts will be smart would be putting a dude like chuck hagel in charge of military/foreign policy shit where he can jive with barry instead of somewhere where his 0% NARAL rating and flag-burning amendment advocacy will make any difference - o reaches out to people with some smart ideas + some dumb-ass GOP ideas and places them where they dont fuck the country up by implementing the dumb stuff

pudneb where do you see my boy dodd in an obama cabinebt??

nowhere

if anywhere, education, but not gonna happen

Kerry has only just been re-elected - it would seem bad in that sense for him to leave the Senate now, wouldn't it?

I'm surprised doc Morbius is OK with him!

no, it wouldn't. but we still want him there.

pinefox, Biden was just re-elected to the Senate too. No impediment at all.

Kerry is just bad as a candidate. (and is often more liberal than The One)

Kerry is just bad as a candidate. (and is often more liberal than The One)

― Dr Morbius, Thursday, November 6, 2008 10:17 AM (6 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

one example, plz

don't you mean That One, morbs?

oh snap

Rahm may be a hangout too

I too would like an example of Kerry's liberalism beating Obama's.

I didn't know that Biden had been running for Senator, I must admit. I have pondered this and now I wonder: so, did people have to vote for Obama as a Senator, this year, so that if he'd lost he would continue in the Senate?

If Kerry left the Senate now, would there be a new election for his post? If so, a Democrat would win?

bill richardson?

Obama wouldn't have been up for re-election until 2010.

I didn't know that Biden had been running for Senator, I must admit. I have pondered this and now I wonder: so, did people have to vote for Obama as a Senator, this year, so that if he'd lost he would continue in the Senate?

yes

If Kerry left the Senate now, would there be a new election for his post? If so, a Democrat would win?

yes. probably.

I didn't know that Biden had been running for Senator, I must admit. I have pondered this and now I wonder: so, did people have to vote for Obama as a Senator, this year, so that if he'd lost he would continue in the Senate?

yes

No. Senators serve six years.

has Hagel hinted he would accept a DOD appointment? has Gates said he's willing to stay if asked?

frankly id be happy to be sec. of labor

Rahm Emanuel & Me [Cliff May]

As you know, Rahm Emanuel appears to be Obama's first choice for White House Chief of Staff.

Rahm and I attended the same college (though not in the same years) and the school's alumnae publication once did a feature on the two of us (when he was working for Clinton and I was at the RNC).

Now for the punchline: The school we attended was Sarah Lawrence College, a fancy girls' school.

You have to agree that any boy who goes to a girls' school has an aptitude for strategic thinking.

If he's a straight loser who can't get laid if there's competition, maybe.

You have to agree.

there were rumors and speculations early in the year that Gary Hart would get some kind of appointment; still being floated? would be nice to see him in the administration somewhere.

i wd think he might get some kind of terrorism czar appointment, or a new, general, future-planning-type office

Senators serve six years

i did not know that

This is the last time I'm responding to an ethan "one example" request, so I hope you picked a good one, trolly motherfucker. Kerry voted against the FISA bill:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00168

Anyone read Timothy Noah's do-not list?

This is the last time I'm responding to an ethan "one example" request, so I hope you picked a good one, trolly motherfucker. Kerry voted against the FISA bill:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00168

― Dr Morbius, Thursday, November 6, 2008 11:47 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

it's trolling to ask you to back up the crazy shit you say? btw your most-hated bitch the hildebeast voted same as kerry on that (lol so did biden), does that make those 2 left of obama as well or will you not admit your example is total bullshit?

hahaha imagine Bubba inviting himself to a SCOTUS conference! emailing Breyer and shit late at night.

Supreme Court. Do not appoint Hillary Clinton. The Supreme Court needs jurists, not politicians. Plus, Bill would drive the other justices crazy.

yes i really hate summers.

xxp: fuck off, little boy.

meanwhile, to the Bam & Rahm marriage and other possible sordid alliances:

Emanuel is a shameless neoliberal with close ties to the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), even co-authoring a strategy book with DLC president Bruce Reed. Without Emanuel, Bill Clinton would not have been able to thrust NAFTA down the throats of environmentalists and labor in the mid-1990s. Over the course of his career, Emanuel’s made it a point to cozy up to big business, making him one of the most effective corporate fundraisers in the Democratic Party. He’s also a staunch advocate of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories....

http://www.counterpunch.org/frank11062008.html

hahaha, maybe Hillary's the wrong CLinton for the Supereme Court.

xxp: fuck off, little boy.

― Dr Morbius, Thursday, November 6, 2008 12:04 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

DO YOU HAVE A CREDIBLE EXAMPLE OF KERRY BEING FURTHER LEFT THAN OBAMA THAT ISNT HIM VOTING IDENTICALLY TO JOE BIDEN AND HILLARY CLINTON OR ARE YOU GOING TO ADMIT YOURE TOTALLY WORTHLESS BRAINDEAD REPASTING OF PERRIN AND COUNTERPUNCH YOU WASTE YOU LITTLE MAN

dammit I'm so excited about Rahm being CoS. So awesome. There's never been a more smug prick so well designed for the position.

don my GA homeboy where u been

he wasn't really "smug" about defeating every antiwar Dem he could when he ran the '06 congressional operation. Meet the new Rove...

and to think I'd have to spell it out for you Morbs.

I been hanging out with Gabbneb, Ethan. We are like, best friends now. Ever since I endorsed Barry, he's taken a shine to me.

Morbs, does it ever bother you that your main defining characteristic on these political threads is that you have a GWB-level obsession with giving people disparaging nicknames?

morbsblossom

you mean like HI DERE? (which I permanently associate with '60s comic Marty Allen)

Dr Borbius

and twat is pretty funny, you gotta admit

I can't imagine getting worked up about a CoS appointment.

no Dan, it doesn't bother me even a little bit.
That there's no standard for banning flaming little shits doesn't bother me either.

If a guy who believes what Emanuel believes is CoS? What does that tell you?

dr morbius are you gonna answer my question or will you admit you don't know shit about barack obama, john kerry, the u.s. senate, and in fact anything but spamming us with failed SNL writers and throwing queeny, desperate tantrums?

I don't like him much, Morbs, but a chief of staff is, in effect, a very powerful valet. Obama strikes me as a man who keeps his own counsel.

It tells me that Emanuel isn't in the House or the head of the DCCC anymore which might not be the worst thing in the world.

besides, Obama already said he supports Israel; if Emmanuel's on the short list for COS, it's for other talents besides tireless Israel advocacy.

Timothy Noah's do-not list?

1. Do not listen to political pundits

The CoS is one of the most powerful fucking people in the White House. It's also one of the most difficult, management-intensive (ball breaking, cat herding) jobs.

Actually Morbs, there is a standard; Ethan got temp-banned for over a week for being a "flaming little shit" and it will happen to him again if he flares up again; however, calling out your bad rhetoric when you make outlandish-seeming claims without offering any evidence to back them up is not flaming. It's kind of sad to see you pull GOP-style "stop attacking me!" tactics when people question you rather than taking your words as gospel but, you know, that's your choice.

It tells me that Emanuel isn't in the House or the head of the DCCC anymore which might not be the worst thing in the world.

This is pretty much how I'm looking at it, but we'll see. I don't like Rahm at all really, but can see how he would be useful, provided its clear that he's following Obama's lead re: shaping policy.

I mean, Obama's not Reagan, this pliant figure molded by Baker and Don Regan.

"The CoS is one of the most powerful fucking people in the White House."

Sure, in personnel terms I can see that, but in terms of actually shaping policy? Is that really true?

Dan, the problem is ethan will never accept my definitions of "left," "liberal" or anything else. And neither will most of the rest of you.

I said Kerry was "often" more liberal than Bam. I know we all can envision ethan demanding I tabulate every goddamn vote either of them has ever cast to do the math fully.

I retract the statement. ETHAN WINS.

(temp-bans = dumb concept)

i didn't ask you to tabulate every goddamn vote, i asked for one example. good to see you finally admitting you don't know shit about anything, though

Dan, the problem is ethan will never accept my definitions of "left," "liberal" or anything else. And neither will most of the rest of you.

communications protip: if "most" people don't accept your definition of a word, it may actually be you who is wrong

He gave you one example.

hahaha Morbs, I don't think ETHAN is the one who has problems accepting other people's definition of "left" or "liberal" (besides which, have you ever actually SAID what you mean by "left" and "liberal"? I don't recall you ever giving your own definitions, just sneering at everyone else's and generally acting like a brat)

yeah, and he rejected the one example by saying "but X Y and Z" aren't liberal, the drug-addled inbred cracker.

that's no more flamey than "you don't know shit about anything," right?

I can vouch that and what is not a drug-addled inbred cracker

It's a lot more flamey than "you don't know shit about anything" and I am assuming you are smart enough to realize that.

Since when (except in the minds of red-baiters) has liberal and left been remotely the same?

flaming little shit v. drug-addled inbred cracker.

He gave you one example.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, November 6, 2008 12:49 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

he gave me the "example" of kerry being left of obama with a vote that was identical to hillary clinton and joe biden who morbz hates more than hitler and the nypd bathhouse vice squad combined

If you both keep going like this I'll ban you both from this thread and you can go somewhere else to have the exact same fight you have every single time you talk to each other because you are incapable of listening to each other or treating each other with respect

Dan, I find your judgment of what's flamey (does the rusty homophobia above count?) unreliable.

I don't recall you ever giving your own definitions

Christ, that would be boring. Let's all just enjoy things getting worse more slowly than they would've under McCain, shall we?

(tho I like the def of a liberal being someone who does the right thing so he can feel good for 15 minutes. Read that about 6 months ago, don't remember whose it is.)

Let's all just enjoy things getting worse more slowly than they would've under McCain, shall we?

Actually. . . let's not. Let's hope things get better, okay?

Yeah I'm all for that.

does the rusty homophobia above count?

You realize this is on par with Omarosa accusing a woman of racism on The Apprentice because said woman used the phrase, "the pot calling the kettle black", right?

Oh whatever, why am I even bothering.

the burning controversy re: the liberalism of kerry vs obama talked about here fwiw
http://whereistand.com/JohnKerry/BarackObama

It tells me that Emanuel isn't in the House or the head of the DCCC anymore which might not be the worst thing in the world.

This is pretty much how I'm looking at it, but we'll see. I don't like Rahm at all really, but can see how he would be useful, provided its clear that he's following Obama's lead re: shaping policy.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, November 6, 2008 11:34 AM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark

My take(s) exactly. WH experience + legislative experience + bad-cop hardass + Chicago makes him seem like an obvious pick and probably an effective one provided he's implementing what Obama wants done rather than overly pushing policy and politics himself.

Wait, what are persuasive non-religious reasons to prohibit same-sex marriage?

boredom?

"ugh there's nothing on TV, I think I'll prevent people from getting married"

http://change.gov/ <-- apply for jobs!

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Thursday, November 6, 2008 -- 1:17 PM ET
-----

Emanuel Accepts Chief of Staff Job

Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois on Thursday accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to become the White House chief of staff.

Apparently John Kerry's name has been floated for SoS. I fervently hope this is merely an attempt to flatter his ego, and that Obama will soon phone Kerry and explain that he is soooo much more valuable staying in the Senate where he can display his leadership more dynamically than at the State Dept.

http://change.gov/ <-- apply for jobs!

done

Morbs must be on campus, I just passed two signs outside boldly stating, "'CHANGE'? 'HOPE'? Tell Obama that Rahm Emanuel is UNACCEPTABLE!" (Well, except they spelled Emanuel's name with an I.)

can I apply for Secretary of Slacking?

Emmanuel Lewis for Press Secretary.

i wonder if the emmanuel thing is also partly a 'inside the tent pissing out' thing. the two are supposedly old friends/confidantes (emmanuel refused to endorse anyone in the primaries as i remember), but if anyone could/would make a lot of trouble for bho it'd be emmanuel

im not a big rahm fan but i really dont get why this is some disillusioning shock to obamaniacs - who did yall expect for chief of staff, bernie sanders?

The dalai lama.

it's an operational position and not a policy one, right?

Fawzi Barhoum

Mike Gravel

it's an operational position and not a policy one, right?

― goole, Thursday, November 6, 2008 7:10 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^^^this

I emailed my dad who is a (secret socialist) health care wonk with 30 years of regulatory & legislative experience at the state level (and a record as a non-partisan) and told him to apply for Obama administration. Was big into medical marijuana and canadian RXes.

To all the Emmanuel haters, all I can say is, like max, it's better to have him inside pisssing out, have him busy with a really substantial job to keep him away from too much policy wonkery and its inevitable even in a non-Clinton administration that some dinosaurs (with experience) be around. Remember the beginning of Clinton's presidency when there was such a dearth of top-level people 'cause there hadn't been a Deomcratic adminstration in twelve years? I think Obama is mindful of that and, regardless, they won't be regulators picked from amongst the industries regulated or lawyers picked from the country's most pretigious religious wing-nut schools but people who actually live in the reality-based world.

http://change.gov/ <-- apply for jobs!

I guess I'll soon find out if they need an editor!

sure this was discussed 4 hours ago but

Politico’s Mike Allen reports today that Robert Gibbs, communications director in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and a key strategist who “helped plan and package” his “rapid move to the national stage,” will be named as the Obama administration’s White House Press Secretary. Allen adds that the “announcement is likely to be viewed favorably by reporters because Gibbs has unquestioned authority, access and institutional memory.”

it's an operational position and not a policy one, right?

in some sense, but the pick may have policy significance as well, especially considering the personality force of the individual

yah the duties of CoS really depend on the administration, the president, and the CoS himself (or, uh, herself).. . it can range from like, co-president, to, like, secretary/assistant

Transition Economic Advisory Board announced:

David Bonior (Member House of Representatives 1977-2003)
· Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)-will participate via speakerphone

· Roel Campos (former SEC Commissioner)

· William Daley (Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Commerce, 1997-2000)

· William Donaldson (Former Chairman of the SEC 2003-2005)

· Roger Ferguson (President and CEO, TIAA-CREF and former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)

· Jennifer Granholm (Governor, State of Michigan)

· Anne Mulcahy (Chairman and CEO, Xerox)

· Richard Parsons (Chairman of the Board, Time Warner)

· Penny Pritzker (CEO, Classic Residence by Hyatt)

· Robert Reich (University of California, Berkeley; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997)

· Robert Rubin (Chairman and Director of the Executive Committee, Citigroup; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1995-1999)

· Eric Schmidt (Chairman and CEO, Google)

· Lawrence Summers (Harvard University; Managing Director, D.E. Shaw; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1999-2001)

· Laura Tyson (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; Former Chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; Former Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995)

· Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor, City of Los Angeles)

· Paul Volcker (Former Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve 1979-1987)

Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)-will participate via speakerphone

"Hey, hi folks, just having a beer here..."

· Penny Pritzker (CEO, Classic Residence by Hyatt)

This is my ophthalmologist's wife.

Schedule an appointment immediately and be the voice of ILX for this great national moment.

· Robert Reich (University of California, Berkeley; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997)

glad this particular ex-Clintonite is on there

This is my ophthalmologist's wife

and the 135th-richest American

that's a lot of eye exams!

Yeah, I had no idea he was Dr. Moneybags until I misplaced the phone number for his office and Googled him.

· Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)- will participate via speakerphone

lol gangsta

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/seenos/blofeld.jpg

Apparently looking at Robert Kennedy for EPA.

^^^another good choice

Hi dere. After a five-hour absence from the board and an endless meeting, I have officially come around to Rahm Emmanuel.

ABC: DAVID AXELROD TO BE WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER...

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Yeah, I had no idea he was Dr. Moneybags until I misplaced the phone number for his office and Googled him.

― jaymc, Thursday, November 6, 2008 4:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if someone is in chicago and their name is pritzker, i would guess they have some $$$

Secretary of State: Richard Holbrooke

― gabbneb, Friday, October 17, 2008 7:32 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark

i know this was weeks ago but wtf terrible idea

fuckin bosnia generation i tell you what

i know this was weeks ago but wtf terrible idea

Holbrooke spoke at my graduation and went on for two hours(!) about Bosnia so that's my petty reason for hating him.

hi deej, it wasn't an 'idea', it was a restatement of conventional wisdom

the East Timor thing is fairly deplorable but otherwise I can think of worse choices

hi deej, it wasn't an 'idea', it was a restatement of conventional wisdom

aka "an idea"

his name seems to have drifted from the radar since the primaries tho

aka a "prediction"

flimsy anecdotal evidence suggests obama admin foreign policy wannabes have been keeping things on the hush - and a list of candidates

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06web-cooper.html

oh so he hasn't got it yet?

i never said it was your terrible idea, just a terrible one sensitiveneb

the CW is that hes gonna push towards center on foreign policy - i think its more likely to be a grab bag, holding on to gates but also pushing some of his own new people in as well, definitely some folks who were not a part of the moderate clintonite pro-iraq war vote (incl for ex holbrooke)

you said it was an idea bro

like it was anything new under the sun

in case thats unclear i mean that it WONT be holbrooke, at least in a major role

it is an idea and i didnt say anything about it being 'new' - i said it was 'bad', new or old

not everyone who worked for the Clintons is a Clintonite; I won't say it will be Holbrooke, but I will say he's on the table

Conventional wisdom (CW) is a term used to describe ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public or by experts in a field. The term implies that the ideas or explanations, though widely held, are unexamined and, hence, may be reevaluated upon further examination or as events unfold.

yeah, the idea here is that Holbrooke will be the pick, not that Holbrooke could or should be the pick

i could see him being used, i just think secretary of state would be a big fuck-you to the antiwar base that rallied around obama in the primaries

a move that could possibly turn me morbius-ward

or, that Holbrooke is (and pretty much always was) the pick

lol, the antiwar base

Whereas I think Jones would be a good pick for SOS.

lol, the antiwar base

― gabbneb, Thursday, November 6, 2008 6:00 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i mean anti iraq war base

that was pretty much the central intial argument for obama > clinton was it not? aside from arguably 'anyone but clinton' or later on, 'she cant run her own campaign'

Obama will bring in fresh blood and ideas into his administration, but i think, and the nyt article suggests, that he is going to staff the most senior levels, especially something like State, with experienced hands

and again before someone uses this against me - obviously its likely holbrooke will remain around, i just think making him SOS is a ridiculous move for someone whose campaign was based on the notion that he had the judgement around this issue - then appoints someone who didnt have that same judgement to secretary of state? suspect.gif

lol gabbneb are you telling me that experience >> judgement??

deej otm re holbrooke - id be surprised if hes the one

i'm telling you that you appear to have underestimated obama's receptiveness to liberal internationalism, or fail to distinguish between that and neoconservatism

no, im saying that liberal internationalism of the dlc style voted in favor of the iraq war, and that enabling neocons might not = neocon but i would be very disappointed if obama used his anti-iraq speech purely as a maneuvering tactic in the primaries without really believing in it

did Joe Biden vote for the Iraq War, deej?

would it be 'dlc' to intervene in Darfur?

i laughed when the onion said his key achievement was being elected after the iraq war had started, but i really would like to think that while he believes in hearing from that faction he will be entrusting significant positions to people who had the foresight on that issue

can you argue that Bush doesn't need to proceed in certain fashion through the UN on Iraq as a matter of international law if you nevertheless disagree with the substance of his Iraq moves?

what does darfur have to do with how someone voted in iraq? iraq is iraq, darfur is darfur

im not anti-interventionist, im just saying holbrooke dropped the ball on iraq and i would be disappointed in obama if he appointed a bunch of dudes responsible for one of the last eight years biggest fuckups into positions of great importance

can you argue that Bush doesn't need to proceed in certain fashion through the UN on Iraq as a matter of international law if you nevertheless disagree with the substance of his Iraq moves?

― gabbneb, Thursday, November 6, 2008 6:15 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

apologist

holbrooke is in no way 'responsible' for iraq, and i've completed my time on your strawman

I heard John Thompson, Symantec CEO for cyber czar?
http://www.symantec.com/about/profile/management/executives/bio.jsp?bioid=john_thompson
but that would be totally weak sauce, fuck hiring another vendor so we can continue to outsource public safety to a bunch of salesmen

holbrooke is in no way 'responsible' for iraq, and i've completed my time on your strawman

― gabbneb, Thursday, November 6, 2008 6:19 PM (23 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

was hillary?

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/45346/thumbs/s-ERIC-HOLDER-large.jpg

i dont know anything abt this guy but he looks really smart - i like him

great mustache

if someone is in chicago and their name is pritzker, i would guess they have some $$$

His name isn't Pritzker.

(His wife's the one with the money.)

my dentist has the same name as a former chair of the NYSE, but i think i established that she's not the wife of

fuckin grasso

i just talked w/ a friend who works as a reporter for the UN and he said to me that he would be shocked if obama picked holbrooke

also talked up samantha power tho for what he didnt know

Chris Dodd is staying put.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7714512.stm

Also in the running is former Governor Tom Vlasik of Iowa

The pickle scion.

Secretary of Pickles

xpost bah

http://sweetpicklesapparel.com/images/debut.jpg

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/8179/picklescr2.jpg

"In an interview with Ma'ariv, Rahm Emanuel's father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son's appointment would be good for Israel. 'Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel,' he was quoted as saying. 'Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House.'"

ban Dr. Benjamin Emanuel

holy shit dad

When's the press conference today? Is it being broadcast on anything except cspan? NPR carrying it?

Is it just me or does Eric Holder look a lot like this guy?

http://www.hbo.com/thewire/img/castcrew/character_season04/regecathey.jpg

yeah that quote is making me feel morbsy

enhh you cant control who your dad is - scott mclellan's dad thinks lbj collaborated with the jews to assassinate JFK, karl rove's dad was a leather daddy with a cockpiercing, obama's dad was a bigamist, whatever

When's the press conference today? Is it being broadcast on anything except cspan? NPR carrying it?

― obama cyber leader (kingfish), Friday, November 7, 2008 5:49 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

2:30 eastern time i think

Is it just me or does Eric Holder look a lot like this guy?

It's just you.

so RFK jr believes in the autism/vaccination connection, and speculation on his appointment to the EPA has everyone freaked? I would be more concerned if he was being floated for something other than the EPA but I don't see any overlap on these issues (correct me if I'm wrong)

RFK EPA! awesome!

xxp Although in the early '90s I used to go on at great length about how Commerce Secretary Ron Brown resembled "Russ Beeler" from the Lake Edna KFC commercials:

http://www.tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/content_images/2008-08-21/IhaveRisen.RonBrown.jpghttp://s4.tinypic.com/2r1zbe8.jpg

unfortunately Rahm is now a more powerful and dangerous bastard than his Irgun terrorist dad.

...Would you rather it was the other way around???

did anyone think Obama would get in and cut off all ties to Israel? He's always said he supported Israel. None of this is a surprise.

Simply stating that the 99th percentile pays 40 percent of the taxes is like saying that bigger lions produce more poop than the gazelles on which they feed.

oops wrong thread

I think that's a pretty repellent statement by Rahm's dickwad dad.

its is really surprised to me that rahm emanuels dad is a loudmouth asshole

Dan: sure, unless it was 1946!

Rahm is plenty bad nuff w/out weapons. If I wanted a prez who'd appoint hardcore DLC kneecappers I'd have voted for HillRod in the primary. The idea that Rahm is giving up a possible Speakership to serve a guy who's going to govern "to the left" of everything he's been working for the last decade-plus..." Is that really plausible?

yes

k, denial is just a river in Egypt

im surpsied that an israel-supporting jew would join forces with a secret muslim!

maybe Terror Pop will expect to see O mopping the floor. (or at least carrying a bucket for AIPAC)

pushing through big legislation requires a certain amount of kneecapping (or crushing bear hugs, a la lbj) xp's

TS: crushing bear hugs vs meetings on the john

lol @ Terror Pop

i look forward to Dr Morbius Cabinet Appointment Thread Nicknames Poll

just to give this dude the benefit of the doubt is it possible the mopping-the-floor comment was about the responsibilities of a chief of staff job and unconnected to "is he an arab"?

you guys get that "What is he, an Arab?" and "He's not going to clean the floors of the White House," are two completely independent concepts, the former referring to his ideological orientation and the latter referring to the significance of his job, right?

xp

like, "my son will cause good for israel - he's not a member of a group that is percieved as antagonistic to israe), and his job is not minor in scope"

xp with gabb but that's how i read it too

lets not prove we can plumb the depths of "obama called palin a pig!" inanity 2 days after the election

yah the verbs in those sentences don't match up.

xp lol u dudes are quick

tho israeli arabs are probably more likely to be mopping someone's floor :/

Results 1 - 2 of 2 for "lipstick on an arab". (0.38 seconds)

Morbs, you know how I feel about Obama and the Dems generally, but I no longer worry about Emmanuel. The chief of staff serves at the pleasure of the President, and it's pretty clear that, unlike Reagan and W, Obama is in command. If Obama's serious about a liberal agenda, a martinet like Emmanuel is what he needs.

hey, i can listen to npr on my iphone now. good.

plz take cap'n save-a-terror-pop attendance

Terror dad didn't terrify me, I thought he was speaking about his son's appt being GFTJ. I'm thinking that having someone who's from a Zionist family will actually provide fig-leaf for Obama when he tries to move forward various cooperations with Islamic leaders - each radical cancels out the other.

hey, i can listen to npr on my iphone now. good.

How?

only nixonrahm could go to chinairan

go to Apps, do a search for 'npr', some of the stations have their own streaming apps to get. i'm listening to 89.3 KPCC-FM right now.

I bet an opera called "Rahm In Iran" would suck goat, tho

there probably would be goat involved in some way, but that?

libretto/music by John Cameron Mitchell

lyrics and book by Richard Perle.

Rahm Rahm Rahm, Rahm Rahm Iran

he's likeable enough

so RFK jr believes in the autism/vaccination connection, and speculation on his appointment to the EPA has everyone freaked? I would be more concerned if he was being floated for something other than the EPA but I don't see any overlap on these issues (correct me if I'm wrong)― akm, Friday, 7 November 2008 18:11 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Because it is staggeringly bad science. The whole vaccines cause autism thing comes from one peer reviewed paper that basically said that they had found a correlation between certain vaccine preservatives and autism in their small sample and they thought that it was worth investigating further. A tonne of work has been done since and no link has been found. What's more the suspect preservative is now largely out of circulation in child vaccines. The doctor who blew the story out of all proportion in cohort with the daily mail has been defrocked by the BMA for being a charlatan.

Do you really want someone heading the EPA who has a shonky grasp on the scientific method?

r u that doctor ed... s'ok *hugs*

Valerie Jarrett on Meet tomorrow

obama's new office is bitchin'

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q24/vafflez/oliverbyschoolwerth.jpg

that obama rahm roast video <3 <3

link?

nev mind - i usually just ignore the kos links

Do you really want someone heading the EPA who has a shonky grasp on the scientific method?

I don't think the main requirement for heading the EPA is locked into someone's science credentials. It requires someone with political skill as well. And at least in this regard, Kennedy's political beliefs are in accord with the job. Now I'd be disturbed if he were being floated for head of Health and Human Services, or Surgeon General.

I'm with the naysayers on that one - the EPA has suffered enough administrators who don't fundamentally get what it is the agency is for. Reminds me of the Doonesbury series about the EPA bureaucrat threatening to jump out of his window:

"He says he's not coming in until Gorsuch publicly agrees that the purpose of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect the environment!"
"Weird." "Must be a Carter holdover." "Jump! Jump!"

i think what i have the most faith in obama about is his willingness to buck CW when necessary

or really just flat out ignore it

anyone have any links for RFK's association with the autism-vaccination nonsense? i mean, i'm with ed, insofar as believing in that garbage makes me question a person's capacity for rational, scientific thought. then again, i haven't read his article on the topic, so maybe his outlook is a bit more nuanced than i think it is.

r u sayin he's a maverick deej??????

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/11/5/115844/057?source=most_popular

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/7395411/deadly_immunity/

no to rfk jr.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/06/robert_f_kennedy_eyed_to_head.html

rfk jr is not looking like a great choice

The OP floated Bill Clinton as UN ambassador. Actually, that would be a first rate idea on many, many levels, if BJC hadn't spent 8 years as POTUS -- and the presumption that he would be a rogue elephant from Day One, leaking, backbiting and challenging Obama to arm-wrestling matches during Cabinet meetings.

iirc, Taft went from POTUS to Chief Justice, a lateral move from head of one branch to head of another, and therefore in keeping with his eminence as a former POTUS. Ex-presidents haven't been modest enough to accept lesser positions than Grand Poobah since the early decades of the USA.

there's an interesting, if probably disappointing for some posters, interview with rahm emmamuel in today's WSJ. there's also an interesting chart giving three possible choices for various cabinet positions. it had some names i hadn't seen elsewhere but i can't find it on-line.

basic theme for all appointments right now seems to be "pragmatism" - i've been reading and hearing this a lot over the past couple of days. i don't really have an ideological problem with someone like gates at defense for now but i would be disappointed over a summers appt to treasury. i'm hoping for a volcker appointment but that seems like a long shot now.

xpost i think talking about any clinton appointment is really missing the point

"pragmatism" sounds a lot like Reid-Pelosi chickenshittism

im not as enthused about 'baby steps' as a policy but i absolutely agree that this election was not a mandate for liberal ideology

Even early in the primaries, Obama was givnig signals that he would be pragmatic rather than ideological. Right now, that seems like the right ticket to me. I want a set of strong figures in the Cabinet who are accustomed to power and have a fund of experience behind them.

BUT, I also want Obama to stand over them as the commanding head of the government. As long as Obama remains popular and has active and enthusiastic support among voters, he will have the power to push his agenda and demand alliegance. Otherwise, we'll see him devolve into Carter II, or a replay of Clinton's first 2 years.

After watching the campaign, I am convinced that Obama should work his way ahead by giving direct speeches to the nation on a farly frequent basis, perhaps every six or eight weeks, where he lays out his plans and appeals to the nation. He needs to communicate with ordinary people and demonstrate his ability to mobilize support. This will give him the strength to bend Washington into a new shape.

I suspect Morbs has a different idea, where then people impose their will upon Obama and use Obama as their instrument to work The People's will upon Washington. Sounds nice, but I think that is a prescription for disaster - if only because The People are not unified and their voice would be an incoherent clamor.

if u change 'the people' to 'dr. morbius' i think that is a correct interpretation

what was it Chas F Kane said? My way, the only way anyone ever knows.

also, it's pretty obv all over the 'mainstream' political spectrum that The People know jackshit. (from Palinites to all the sweet kiddies who 'took' Obama's middle name)

Chas F Kane

hey doc morbius maybe you can be appointed to sectary of education and help get as all up to speed about why this country was so much better in 1964 than it is today!

Re: Bill as UN ambassador - I agree that his having Bill Clinton's personality is kind of a problem... however, I still think it's an idea with some legs, mainly:

1) fits with whole "restore our standing in the world" meme - granted lots of people on our shores would imagine it as the opposite, but I THINK Clinton is still relatively popular abroad? Certainly it fits with the whole "let's get back to the 90s when we could wage limited wars and people liked us" story, whether you agree with that rosy picture or not.

2) it's high-profile enough to serve as a meaningful olive branch to the Clinton wing, without being so high-profile as to directly affect or undermine what Obama's trying to do generally. Again, one might ask if a Clinton olive branch is something Obama actually needs to do.

The risk of him turning out to be MacArthur in Korea is probably enough argument to kill the idea, but hey.

I love that people have accepted the premise that former President Clinton would take a low-level cabinet position!

The idea that former President Clinton would become ambassador to the United Nations is absurd.

The arrogance perpetuated against Clinton on this board never ceases to amaze me.

granted lots of people on our shores would imagine it as the opposite

but I THINK Clinton is still relatively popular abroad

let's get back to the 90s when we could wage limited wars and people liked us

It's high-profile enough to serve as a meaningful olive branch to the Clinton wing

Hilarious!

I’m actually flustered by this crap!

The idea that former President Clinton would become ambassador to the United Nations is absurd.

So wait, is it Clinton or me that's arrogant?

I mean, it's a position that caters exactly to what he needs most - restoration of his presidential-ness, serious elder statesman, hero of the world, etc etc.

what voters care about is getting shit done. If Obama can do that, without fucking things up, then he will have been successful. That's all he ever said he'd do: radicals looking for a savior have known for a while that they should look elsewhere. But getting shit done ≠ "governing from the center" or "triangulating".

bill would absolutely run amok at the un - one of the big cons to a hillary vp pick was having bill around - never happen in a m years

I mean, it's a position that caters exactly to what he needs most - restoration of his presidential-ness, serious elder statesman, hero of the world, etc etc.

No it doesn’t. Few countries care about their respective ambassadors to the United States and in both Democratic and Republican White Houses we’ve been no different. Its sole function is to deliver bad news to the UN.

The function historically has been a gateway into more worthwhile postings. You’ll see the same in this cabinet (e.g. Holbrooke at State, etc).

All right, all right, I withdraw his name from the ring! Jeez, did he pardon your brother or something?

bill would absolutely run amok at the un - one of the big cons to a hillary vp pick was having bill around - never happen in a m years

I hope no one tells you Clinton is a credible successor to Ki-moon. No one will veto his nomination and unless a credible Canadian is nominated the General Assembly will appoint him without hesitation. The appointment process is a dream for Clinton.

Tension between Obama and Clinton (if exists or not) only increases the likelihood of a nomination. I’m not saying it will happen, but if he is nominated he will be appointed.

Also, how is everyone going to feel when you find out Obama appointed a slew of Clinton loyalists? Did you really not see this coming?

"Clinton loyalists" is another word for "experienced Democratic bureaucrats who aren't 70 years old." There's just not that many names to choose from, but I don't think it's going to be read as a return to Clintonism because the President - who tells all these people what to do - is not going to be Bill Clinton!

btw I am having no luck reconciling your assertion that Clinton would never take the job, big step down, etc., versus your assertion that he would be thrilled to death for the chance to step up to UN Secretary General.

allen u r kind of being a dick

Uh ... really? Try Wikipedia.

.....what?

allen u r kind of being a dick

Eh. I am. Sorry.

no worries dude just be plouffe not emmanuel

no worries dude just be plouffe not emmanuel

That should be our new meme around here.

I am for this.

ilx is fundamentally more emmanuel than plouffe tho

ilx is fundamentally a combination of emmanuel, biden and palin

well played

did no one ever make a graphic of the "obama =, biden =, mccain =" meme w/ ilx boards

Also, how is everyone going to feel when you find out Obama appointed a slew of Clinton loyalists? Did you really not see this coming?

― Allen, Saturday, November 8, 2008 4:11 PM (38 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hes appointed one so far. i would release what percentage of clinton loyalists that is but we prefer not to show our hand too early

*plouffe*

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r210/ohnobellichkadidnt/rahmbo.png

now i've forgotten what i wanted to post

I admire 'doc' Morbius, for quoting Kane as 'Chas F', and also for his so-ready recourse to MOVIE, the way (maybe not the only way) he knows - and why not?

Oh. My. God.

God, what would you dudes have been like if Obama had lost?

hey doc morbius maybe you can be appointed to sectary of education and help get as all up to speed about why this country was so much better in 1964 than it is today!

― z z. st. z z. uv (Lamp), Saturday, November 8, 2008 9:26 PM

I don't where this came from, but I'll play. Lots of things are better now. Among things that aren't: Wealth is concentrated in the hands of fewer; wages have stagnated (since about '74-76, I think); more of our elections are now essentially auctions; and in '64 Democrats actually used to mention "the poor" once in awhile.

No, let's not make Bubba (w/ his record on Rwanda, Bosnia and bombing aspirin factories) UN ambassador.

I swear Newsday mentioned Ahnuld for Energy yesterday!

the poor think they are middle class - if the dems started talking about 'the poor' a lot it would just be to make whole foods shopping nyc upper-middle class folks feel better about their party

^way more cynical than me

real wages today are slightly higher than they were in '64. real compensation in the nonfarm sector (in the form of wages+healthcare benefits) has steadily increased since '64.

http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2005/12/declining_real.html

but i guess we should go back to then and take most jobs away from women and minorities

haha many xposts

on one of the other threads you were bitching about this country having gone completely downhill since 1968 and then you complained that pragmatism was cowardice or w/e. fwiw real wages rose under Clinton.

george packer has an article up today on the liberalism in which he complains about summers at treasury but never offers the name of someone who isn't tainted by the deregulatory Clinton years. and i think that progressives have to realize as aimless points out that the new administration will need experienced people in place. also i think that assuming that everyone that worked in a clinton white house will somehow be inured to both the new political reality and the new social reality is just wrong. 2009 is not and will not be 1993 even if some of the faces are the same.

oh and slightly more on-topic its really cheering to seem ppl like alan krueger are going to have at the very least advisory places in on obama white house.

I would really rather not see Arnold in charge of energy. His heart is in the right place, but I'd rather see someone in that position who is an expert and not merely an advocate.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UAE_4y4nKak/SLfKoGPosfI/AAAAAAAABLE/N_hFmlm1-_0/s1600/ernest%2Bjail.jpg

No, deej OTM about "poor" -- that, and because of the wage disparity Morbs mentioned, every time the Dems say "middle class" it's code for "poor".

but i guess we should go back to then and take most jobs away from women and minorities

he's so dependable.

the new administration will need experienced people in place.
http://www.envisionartstudio.com/artistsblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/6_21_080306_rumsfeld.jpg

national oracle rumsfeld

Grading the economic advisory board:

Robert Rubin: A-
Larry Summers: B
Laura Tyson: C
Roger Ferguson: B+;
Richard Parsons: is this a joke? F
William Donaldson: B
Anne Mulcahy: B -

Tim Geither: opinions?

It's funny, every time British people say "middle class" they mean the rich.

to be fair in america it means everyone who doesnt own their own jet or live in the projects

moderate lulz

EPA, energy and environment are going to need some tough political operators, sure, but if they are into bad science we end up with 'clean' coal and corn ethanol.

I'm hoping now that he's not under pressure from the corn lobby that he'll cut the strings on their bullshit subsidies.

I am hoping celulosic tech starts to make the whole corn ethanol thing moot in the next few years, the corn subsides are, of course stifling the development and deployment of cellulosic ethanol tech. Quite frankly, though, ethanol is not a great fuel but a useful stop-gap additive to petrol.

plus, Iowa caucuses 2012 lolz

its true having iowa hold so much power is v bad in that regard

iowa should never have that much power

never again

bho thinks, "i owe a?"

he's so dependable

i guess you didn't grasp the connection there. it's kind of a chicken-or-the-egg thing, but the fact is that even while real wages have remained the same, there's a hell of a lot of families (oh no, families) who have increased their wages by adding a wage-earner (or adding hours, or jobs). the majority of children born into poverty are born to single parents.

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/48118/thumbs/s-LUX-large.jpg

look at this fucking guy mike lux from the obama transition team look at his huge awzom face ffs

for fucks snakes

lol

Hello Emily,

Thank you for your interest in joining the Obama-Biden Administration. Within a few days, you will receive an email with a link to the more complete on-line application. Please be patient, as we are trying to respond promptly to the large number of people who are interested in working in the Administration.

^^^^got one too XD

plus, Iowa caucuses 2012 lolz

Really? You think there's even going to be a primary challenge in 2012?

Nope.

Hello Gabbneb,

Thank you for your interest in joining the Obama-Biden Administration. Would you like to blap?

I don't think anything about 2012, that's a fool's game.

lol at deej and gabbneb and i working for obama!

YES WE CAN

i just applied

best administration ever

im hoping for secretary of the interior, i hear those dudes have some awesome parties

i applied to a job working in the treasury dept.

join the Beneficent Machine

Papa Bonifacio would laugh at your puckish sense of humor, morbs.

I remember him; fifth outfielder for the Expos in the mid '70s?

btw fuck this draconian 'select only 3' shit

Probably no reason to even put in an app without a college degree, eh?

i dont see why not

tbh im not expecting shit to come of this for me but who knows, you know?

"respected" Democratic former senator Sam Nunn, 70, will lead the handover team for the Department of Defense. He represented Georgia in the US senate from 1992 to 1997, and for eight years headed the Senate Armed Services Committee.

And so it begins...

wait, i thought it 'began' with Emanuel? Or was it with FISA?

Some further hoohah:

"Senator Sam Nunn will play an informal senior advisor role throughout the defense transition process. His expertise and the respect he has earned will be invaluable to ensure a smooth transition. Secretary Christopher is deeply respected in the United States and throughout the international community. However, he is not playing a role in the transition process. There's a lot of disinformation out there. We're working hard to put the agency review teams together and expect they'll be announced this week and inside the agencies by the end of the week," said Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Spokesperson Stephanie Cutter.

this is, of course, exactly what he said he would do

just got off phone with a friend who voted for O, who said he hopes ppl aren't actually going to be surprised when he turns out to be a less liberal Bill Clinton.

lol thatd make him right of reagan eh morbs ;)

just got off phone with a friend who voted for O, who said he hopes ppl aren't actually going to be surprised when he turns out to be a less liberal Bill Clinton

is your source Bill Kristol?

morbs tell yr friend to post here we will set him/her straight

Dennis Perrin?

Ralph Nader's pager

hey was it one of these guys? And are you "a trader and market strategist who had voted for Ralph Nader"?

just got off phone with a friend who voted for O, who said he hopes ppl aren't actually going to be surprised when he turns out to be a less liberal Bill Clinton

Economically speaking, there are worse things to be.

The reason your truth bombs have been treated with so much derision is because the vast majority of people on this thread know that Obama is not super-liberal and will not be surprised in the slightest when he turns out to be a centrist whose ideas lean to the left.

basically, the worse thing to be is McCain

(I don't do truth bombs, memes or zings)

^^^technically true

o morbs does zing

I think it's safe to say he's short on truth bombs.

However illiberal Nunn is, does O have a lot of better options with two wars still on?

plum book http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook

Hey so does that mean (if I'm reading that website correctly) that a new administration will make 7000 new appointments upon coming into office?

(me and k had an argument about this very subject the other night--she was insisting that the number had to be much much lower, for continuity)

yes 7-8k

heres an article abt it http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/06/AR2008110602519_pf.html

Hot political rumor: Obama to choose Sarah Palin as secretary of state.

she should be appointed to a fake cabinet position so we can all lol @ her

haha last sentence of that post article is gonna be quoted by scholars 50 years from now as evidence of Cheney's influence:

It should be noted that no jobs will be listed in the book for the office of the vice president. A spokesman for the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Reform explained that the vice president's office is technically neither part of the executive or legislative branch.

haha holy shit!

where's the video of my main man rahm emanuel demanding that funding for the VP office be stopped?

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/11/13/us/13apply.600.jpg

from obama admin app - lol facebook generation

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/11/13/us/13apply.600.jpg

im totally gonna inform on gabnebz for compulsive linking to thepage.time.com - is that considered embarrassing or

Was just about to post that graphic. That pretty much counts me out. And former Sen. Bob Graham.

and everyone

if only the GOP had done that with Foley RIP

andrea mitchell saying hillary for sos??

"if you have ever been a subject of a trashy blog post, please explain"

so not gonna happen max

would obama offer hillary something she doesn't want? maybe.

He's not that crafty. Or cynical. Or is he?

she should be appointed to a fake cabinet position so we can all lol @ her

― SNAKES! (ice crӕm), Wednesday, November 12, 2008 5:32 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark

secretary of the meeting with important foreign leaders with preconditions also

He's not that crafty. Or cynical. Or is he?

Turning to Mrs. Clinton's argument that she is more experienced and tested against likely Republican attacks, Mr. Obama said -- to the delight of nearly 7,000 in the school's basketball arena -- "I've got to explain to them: I'm skinny, but I'm tough. ... I'm from Chicago. We know how to play politics in Chicago."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08050/858508-176.stm

yeah g-man, cuz he's played sooooooooooooooooooooo much politics in Chicago. It's one thing to say you're tough.

But that would be awesome if he pwned Hillary.

wtf are you talking about he ran for congress against bobby rush - he knows how tough politics in chicago can be

hahahahahhahaha respeck but stfu don

ilx has ruined our chances for a cabinet position. :(

this Hillary for Sec of State thing is a joke, right?

hillary for ambassador to bosnia

This Politico article ties the idea in to Obama's stated fondness for the Doris Kearns Goodwin bio of Lincoln Team of Rivals:

One explanation for Obama’s willingness to consider Clinton for chief diplomat can be found in a January interview he gave to Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News.” As part of her “Primary Questions” series, Couric asked him what books besides the Bible he would consider essential if he were elected president.

“Doris Kearns Goodwin's book ‘Team of Rivals,’” Obama replied. “It was a biography of Lincoln. And she talks about Lincoln's capacity to bring opponents of his and people who have run against him in his cabinet. And he was confident enough to be willing to have these dissenting voices and confident enough to listen to the American people and push them outside of their comfort zone. And I think that part of what I want to do as president is push Americans a little bit outside of their comfort zone. It's a remarkable study in leadership.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15625.html

Also LBJ's famous comment about J. Edgar Hoover might be relevant: "It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in."

I wonder how many airport snipers Secy Shrill will hafta dodge

sullivan speculates its to keep her from causing problems in the senate particularly w/health care

tho im not sure where he came up w/the whole shes his main threat now part

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/11/hillary-for-sec.html

Ask Ron Brown.

xp

oh she SO wants to run in '12 if he can't keep the country outta the crapper

I don't really see how Hillary would be a big threat/obstacle in the Senate.

Morbz def correct tho re: 2012

I wish Doris Kearns Goodwin would stop getting free publicity for her (admittedly, very fine) book.

the cabinet would be an impossible place to run from tho - hey i just spent the last four years working for the guy but he sux i mean srsly you all hate yr bosses too right guys guys

b-b-but she's America's Historian©

xpost

the cabinet would be an impossible place to run from tho

Lookit where it got Al Haig.

Have feminists really scuttled Larry Summers' shot at Treasury?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15612.html

It's political correctness gone mad!

i mean she could be looking sec of stae as a capper to her political career - then spend some time in emeritus land - likely shed only sever one more senate term by the end of which shed be almost 70

She's not running in 2012 guys.

i could def see thinking that the position especially right now would be a very powerful spot to affect change

oh, Hil & change, big rofl

hillary for ambassador to bosnia

I chuckled.

so hillary's sec of state??

rumor has it hillary is going to be appointed the new president!!!!

lol if she takes the position it completes the west wing prophecy in a weird way

i got that offering Hillary Foggy Bottom was offering her something that had nothing to do with health care or any domestic politics, but Chuck Todd got me further towards understanding that it's something that she might conceivably want and that Obama might be offering it in part for that reason - he argued that State is gonna be a really big deal in the world the next few years and that Hillary might want it both for that reason and because its addition to her portfolio could make her more politically significant down the road. On the Obama side, he argued that this takes her out of the Majority Leader running and, significantly, would neutralize Bill's overseas freelancing in a way that the Pentagon would not.

would she have to fill out the questionnaire?

1) name the countries involved in the North American Free Trade Agreement

"one time i sort of implied that white people are the only hard workers in the country"

I’m not completely against Clinton being nominated. However, I agree with the premise that the most pressing problems of international policy in the next Presidential term are solvable with political capital rather than analytical reasoning. Not to say that Clinton does not possess the latter, but she does have plenty of the former. This premise does lead me to the conclusion that this could be the first time during post-war America that the role is far better suited for a politician than an academic.

… And if you view State as the department of peace, a department that is balanced by war, or Defense, Clinton would act as a great counter to Gates, Patraeus, and Mullen who are all deeply analytic and academic figures.

Sec of State is great for Hillary, it's not a management position, it is (in effect) the biggest old-money fundraising job in the world, and I really can't see how she would fuck it up at all. I think if she takes it she'll be great, actually.

a. anybody thinking just because he won doesn't mean he have to kiss any more rings is living in A World Of Morbs

b. kissing rings with the maximum effectiveness is not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of profound competence.

Also this shit is awesome

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/net-neutrality.html

"We're not doing at all well for reasons that mostly have to do with the fact that we failed to have a US industrial policy pushing forward high-speed internet access penetration, and there's been completely inadequate competition in this country for high speed internet access," she said.

And in a final introductory statement during her talk (that's likely to send shivers down the spines of telecom company executives) she said that she believes internet access is a "utility."

"This is like water, electricity, sewage systems: Something that each and all Americans need to succeed in the modern era. We're doing very badly, and we're in a dismal state," she said at the time.

Ha! Susan Crawford is great! She has a great blog: http://scrawford.net/blog/, however she hasn't posted since the day after the election (not surprising).

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/us/politics/17memo.html?_r=1&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065&oref=slogin

It's not rings I fear him kissing, TB.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-courtobama17-2008nov17,0,6924032.story

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press editorial board in October, he described Warren, Brennan and Marshall as "heroes of mine. . . . But that doesn't necessarily mean that I think their judicial philosophy is appropriate for today."

He credited the Warren court with ending segregation and opening doors for African Americans. "The court had to step in and break that logjam. I'm not sure you need that. In fact, I would be troubled if you had that same kind of activism in circumstances today," he said.

discouraging (unless, y'know, He Really Doesn't Mean It....)

that is discouraging but not surprising at all :(

This is why possessing the ambition to be prez usually disqualifies an individual from my consideration. Schmucks.

Morbs, that makes no sense. How do you become president without ambition? By that logic, Milliard Filmore, William H. Taft, and Gerry Ford were luminaries.

The modern ambition the pursuit of the office (and its attendant megabucks funding) is on an altogether different plane from earlier eras.

Dr Morbius, have you ever studied constitutional law?

gabbneb, did you confess posting porn to ILX on your Bam Administration job application?

lol. Are you aware that some liberal/left Constitutional scholars are not necessarily appreciative of Brown as Constitutional law, regarding it in part as having paved the way for right-wing decisions (for instance)?

the world fails to live up to morbses standards - lets all move on

Among Democrats, Govs. Janet Napolitano, 50, of Arizona and Jennifer M. Granholm, 49, of Michigan also are being talked about for top legal jobs in an Obama administration, either as U.S. attorney general or as future Supreme Court nominee. Both were federal prosecutors and attorneys general for their states before being elected governor.

Every time I see Granholm's name mentioned in proximity to "Supreme Court", my blood runs cold.

I know next to nothing about her--what provokes that reaction from you?

as an arizonan i cringe at the thought of the (pretty awesome) napolitano leaving us to the mercy of the state GOP and their wannabe border vigilante constituents.

She's someone who governs based on what will bring her good press and publicity and little else.

...one of those, I see.

ha

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111602440.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008111700199&s_pos=

not about appointments but still related

Granholm is a Canadian-born Californian-Michigander

...one of those, I see.

The fact that she was born in Canada just means that she can never be president -- it doesn't preclude her from a cabinet post or Supreme Court appointment.

did anyone suggest otherwise?

i think her non-native-ness might make her seem off in Michigan (or elsewhere, for people expecting more of a 'Michigan type')

did anyone suggest otherwise?

I'm not sure why you brought it up otherwise.

read the post above yours

otherwise

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/17/hillary-clinton-secretary-of-state

are these Hillary's people leaking that she would take it before the Bill vet is complete?

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/17/215136/48/565/662521

haha, "NY College Dems" wants to make sure everyone knows about this

i think her non-native-ness might make her seem off in Michigan (or elsewhere, for people expecting more of a 'Michigan type')

She doesn't really come off as Canadian, just very pageant-y. Which is probably why they had her stand in for Palin in Biden's debate prep.

She doesn't really come off as Canadian, just very pageant-y

i.e. Californian

she's a former beauty queen and failed Hollywooder

btw gabby, I have studied just enough constitutional law to confirm my belief that in practice it's mostly a big shell game, and that Mr. Bumble was right.

ie enough that you don't have more than a little knowledge that might interfere with the way you wish to view the world

the question isn't whether it's a shell game, it's whether you're doing it rong

anything endlessly interpreted by lawyers is assholish

take it elsewhere, kids

http://blogsap.files.wordpress.com/2006/10/nbc_the_more_you_know.jpg

xp, are you older than morbs, Don?

anyway, silver lining in the abomination of HRC at State: New York (temporarily) will have only one shitty senator.

If I ever go over the mod-powers-abuse precipice, Morbs, it's going to be to ban you and delete your login for being such an unrelenting miserable shit 25/8. You are the most distastefully depressing human being I've ever "encountered," and that includes the guy in San Francisco who asked me for a dollar while he was shitting in his own clothes.

But I'm not to that point yet, so carry on.

I don't agree with much of what Dr. Morbius says, but banning him would be a disgrace.

while he was shitting in his own clothes.

how could you tell?

GOOD MORNING ILX!

:)

hola frijole.

xp, I'm 40 gabbneb. But if you wanna call me kid sometime, I won't mind.

Shitting in clothes is a great thread derailer, and more interesting than the Hillary-Bill sideshow.

I'm horrified by what Bill Clinton's financial records might reveal -- maybe even the location of the lost Ark.

uh even i know where the ark is, in the big warehouse

bill + holy grail + intern = ???

i mean WEVE ALL SEEN WHAT HE CAN DO W/A CIGAR RIGHT

"flesh wounds"? xp

uh i dont think u can put a grail inside a putty

Arkansas Bill and the Screaming Lobster of Hope

Rock, if you lived in NY (or do you?), perhaps you would "appreciate" the tentacles of a really damaging shit like Schumer (instead of some guy on the internet who's spoiling everyone's Pollyannaism). Schumer's former aides are assuming power so relentlessly Newsday referred to them as "Seed of Chucky" the other day.

There are people who think that the US is mostly run by duopolistic cretins. That you don't wanna hear from one of em isn't very pluralistic.

(plus all I was saying is I would trade NY's 2 miserable senators for most of our neighboring states', incl 112-yo Lautenberg)

i will for evevryones sakes decline to revels the clintonian scenarios i am imagining right now

that's a little ott, Rock, morbs just uses that stuff as a defense mechanism

xxp - good save on pointing to someone other than Brodeur, but lol at tabloid-brain fear of former Schumer aides

I could totally see you workin for Chuck

i would vote brodeur for senator

i can already see the campaign material--brodeur: hell "save" new jersey

trying to think of one involving "goal"

good save on pointing to someone other than Brodeur

This doesn't mean anything, spin on it plz

pls

AG: Eric Holder

No relation to Noddy, unfortunately.

I knew nothing about it...then I stopped reading after this:

The only hesitancy about Holder’s selection was that he himself had reservations about going through a confirmation process that was likely to revive questions about his role in signing off on the controversial pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. Although there is no evidence that Holder actively pushed the pardon, he was criticized for not raising with the White House the strong objections that some Justice Department lawyers and federal prosecutors in New York had to pardoning somebody who had fled the country. But after reviewing the evidence in the case, and checking with staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Obama aides and Holder both decided the issue was highly unlikely to prove an obstacle to his confirmation, one of the sources said--especially given the Democrats’ more sizable post-election majority in the Senate

i'm assuming this guy doesn't have any major bad things if morbz isn't freaking out about him?

that article says hes considered 'centrist' so i wouldnt bet on it

My dad'll be glad. He's a Stuyvesant graduate.

first comment on that story is just excellent

more excellence:

The conservative website HowObamaGotElected.com reports that it has commissioned Zogby International to conduct a poll of 512 Barack Obama voters as part of what can best be described as a viral marketing effort to discredit the intelligence of Obama supporters.

The website, created by former radio talk show host John Ziegler to promote a forthcoming documentary, features a YouTube clip of interviews with 12 Obama voters who "were chosen for their apparent intelligence/verbal abilities and willingness to express their opinions to a large audience". The clip portrays the Obama supporters as giving "incorrect" answers to political questions such as "which candidate said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket". Of the 12 Obama supporters interviewed for the clip, 7 (58%) are black; nationwide, about 23% of Obama supporters were black according to the national exit poll.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/zogby-engages-in-apparent-push-polling.html

The first comment or the last?

that guy was on hannity & colmes last night and it was just... incredible truly

first, he was like "i interviewed TWELVE obama supporters. TWELVE. AND they were picked by a BLACK GIRL not me". then hannity would nod and say "you know, to me john, i just find it INCREDIBLE that 68% of obama supporters didn't know that obama's career started in the home of unrepentant terrorist bill ayers. and 80 PERCENT, EIGHTY!, did not know that obama wants to bankrupt the coal industry. THIS is who we are dealing with!"

it was a remarkable bit of trolling and reality self-dilution

meanwhile they accidentally panned to colmes who was chugging a bottle of vodka while furirously rereading his paycheck over and over

ha, it's a little busier since i looked at it an hour or two ago. this one, tho genius is not thin on the ground as usual:

Posted By: wewe123 (November 18, 2008 at 2:47 PM)
Why are black people so desperate to see one of their own in office? It seems like experience and everything else doesn't matter. Just his color makes black people happy. Barack could not be a CEO of lets say GE, Micrsoft, Dell or even Subway Resturaunts so why could we elect him as president of the U.S. He has very little experience to run a company never mind the most powerful country! I don't get it!

xps

OR EVEN SUBWAY RESTAURANTS

I will never get desperate enough to watch Hannity and Colmes.

obama couldnt even be a sandwich artist

Yeah all those really very experienced CEOs have done great jobs lately, haven't they.

here's the thing about hannity & colmes: i never bought into the "watch it for the lulz and crazies" esp. before the election when he was flogging away at ayers and ACORN etc etc. but now post-election it really is truly hilarious and 2008 ELECTION SCHADENFREUDE to see him lead off a show with "NEW VIDEO OF BILL AYERS!" two weeks after the election

also arianna huffington was hosting maddow's show last night and i wasn't about to sit through her soul-crushing lifelessness and insufferable accent

I'm sure re-runs of Top Chef were on.

NO!!!!! IT WAS A MARATHON OF REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA >_<

Haha then I'd just turn the TV off.

I don't understand that "real housewives" shit - those bitchez are TROPHY WIVES yo

in both OC and ATL

It does not seem that anyone has shared this soul-crushing AP/Economist wire photoshop:

http://media.economist.com/images/na/2008w47/Hillary.jpg

Obama just thinks Hill is soooo dreamy.

what the hell

I do not like SQUEEE!bama

That's like an alternate casting for "Twilight" straight from Hell.

I really like the giant "SECRETARY OF STATE" button. That's how they know who's who in the cabinet sessions.

That's like an alternate casting for "Twilight" straight from Hell.

There'd be the same amount of sex.

oh god, that reminds me of the synopsis I read of that horrifying birth scene and how my Obama=Belle/Hillary=Edward casting makes it even horrifyinger

dan why would you say this to me and make me think of it why

I find it completely bizarre that Obama supporters are not freaking out.

ERIC HOLDER!

Where’s the contempt? Did Obama supporters tune out at 11:01 on November 4? Or have they admitted their anti-Clinton rhetoric was completely baseless?

Actually … we’re still hearing about the mysterious Clinton money!

blah blah blah

I am holding contempt in check until he actually gets into office, thanks

finding capable WH dem hands who didn't work for WJC might be tough to do. 'worked for clinton' and 'clintonite' are not concentric circles on a venn diagram, anyway

i'm a little more pissed about throwing a life preserver to lieberman, but, i suppose having a vote in the senate feel somewhat beholden to you is worth something?

I thought Obama was a better candidate than Hillary Clinton and did not like her campaign's tactics in the primaries. That doesn't have anything to do with how I feel about Bill Clinton's administration and those associated with it.

yeah there are "Clintonites" I am totally okay with (Robert Reich already ref'd somewhere upthread)

I supported Obama because of what his candidacy could continue to mean for progressive grassroots politics. So far, so good, unsurprisingly. I expect that he'll run things top-down political things like a ferociously competent politician, and my impression of the (rumored) (Clintonite) appointments is consistent with that expectation.

how is letting him keep his chair "throwing a life preserver?" The electorate of connecticut is responsible for Lieberman's career, not the Senate, imo. And yeah would you rather get to feel self-righteous for about a week about taking his chair away or have a dem caucus that's one vote stronger? the campaign's over, his buddy lost, and his fucked up positions on natl security issues are basically moot. There's way more important shit for the country to worry about, why wouldn't you want his vote on your side?

"i'm a little more pissed about throwing a life preserver to lieberman, but, i suppose having a vote in the senate feel somewhat beholden to you is worth something?"

I don't care so much about the punishing aspect, but I do wish a hack like Lieberman wasn't in charge of an important committee.

Don't care about hiring ex-Clintonites in general (though there are specific ex-Clintonites I would care about) and I don't know enough about Holder (lukewarm endorsement of the Rich pardon aside) to object to him personally.

for some reason my brain reads "Clintonite" as "catamite"

I'm miffed about the Lieberman thing, sure, especially since the Senate let him keep his seat after strong signals from Obama that it's what he wanted. That's what most annoys me -- after years of a supine legislature, I don't want it even with a guy I like.

my only anti-"clintonite" position is fuck larry summers which i will persistently and emphatically reiterate

he ran on the notion of being a forgive and forget type dude so this doesnt strike me as much of a surprise - esp when lieberman's approval ratings are already in the tank, lol buyers remorse for tards of CT

oh btw i think there are very key areas in which we should be anti-clintonite, i.e. this butthole

tom, that's the position i've more or less talked myself around to. the problem is that lieberman's threats worked. he's a fairly rote democrat except on security matters, a chairmanship on which subject he holds, and for that reason he supported the republican candidate (the campaigning bothers me far less than the chairmanship).

so his threat was that if he was stripped of the chair, he'd go off and caucus with the GOP. which makes NO sense ideologically; what kind of republican would he be, a guy who votes to the right on nat'l security matters but breaks with his new caucus on every other thing? choice? judges? budget? environment? was he threatening to suddenly change his mind on the REST of his political makeup?

it's not like the guy was in waxman overdrive either, is he in the middle of especially crucial work as chair that i am not aware of?

he made the connection of "my chair = my vote on all else" and everyone said "ok joe you win"

xps

I know DC is a small town, and there's holdovers from other adminstrations (Bush had lots of Poppy, Reagan, and Ford folks, etc), but, on its face, Eric Holder is the kind of successful bureaucrat I don't want as attorney general. When it came to assessing the Clinton administration, the Marc Rich pardon was a last straw for me.

Wow you had a lot more patience than I do/did. The Marc Rich thing was like a couple of hundred straws later for me.

It's my birthday, I'm in a generous mood.

how bad was he, do you have some highlights? his statements on torture have been good, from what blogs have shown today.

what's the implicit argument from O? I'm going to be a much better man than WJC so don't worry about this pardon business?

what's the implicit argument from O? I'm going to be a much better man than WJC so don't worry about this pardon business?

I don't want to trust my president!

I'm not even sure that's the most egregious Clinton pardon to be honest. And I have a feeling Bush's pardons are going to make Clinton's seem like child's play.