Secretary of Defense - civilian, not powell
Secretary of State - Hillary
Secretary of Environment - Gore
Warren buffet will only be an informal advisor
Breast inspector - Bill Clinton

11/5/2008 12:47:48 AM

jackson
jackson jr
farrakhan
ayers
bill clinton

11/5/2008 12:50:19 AM

come on, man.

hillary is NOT going to secretary of ANYTHING. she's going to be Senator-for-Life until she sees an opening to make another bid for the white house

11/5/2008 12:51:06 AM

ug

i hope he reaches across the aisle

otherwise, it could get ugly

what about a really centrist/experienced/even conservative secretary of defense?

it would offset obama's extreme lack of experience

11/5/2008 12:53:18 AM

Hillary's generation has come and gone. There will be no presidency for her in 8 years or ever.

11/5/2008 12:53:33 AM

Secretary of the Environment?

Is this a new created position you propose?

11/5/2008 12:54:06 AM

whatever the equivalent is now or a new one. Dude wants to do a manhattan project for alternative energy. Connect the dots.

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 12:56 AM. Reason : .]

11/5/2008 12:54:29 AM

yeah, the clintons are a warm memory now.

11/5/2008 12:54:39 AM

Hmm well there's the Sec. of Energy and the Administrator of the EPA, so I guess Al Gore would have to pick?

11/5/2008 1:00:44 AM

how about Secretary of the Interior?



[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 1:23 AM. Reason : ]

11/5/2008 1:23:09 AM

Lugar
Richardson
Summers
Bob Gates

11/5/2008 1:29:48 AM

Homeland Security-Ayers

11/5/2008 1:34:45 AM

you angry little moonbats are going to have to let go of your love affair with Ayers.

anyhow... I predict Obama will put together a top-notch team and we'll have one of the most competent and smooth transitions to the new Administration ever seen.

not saying it will be perfect, or that there will be no glitches ... but I'll bet he's going to have damn near everything in place and ready to hit the ground running.



[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 1:37 AM. Reason : ]

11/5/2008 1:36:24 AM

I know he said he said he would reach across the aisle to pick a "post-partisan" cabinet, but he doesn't need to, and mostly likely won't:

He won a clear majority of the popular vote (and electoral college).
His party gained seats in both houses of Congress.

He could tell Republicans to shove it, and then do what he wants.

11/5/2008 6:33:50 AM

Quote :

"He could tell Republicans to shove it, and then do what he wants."

Like Bush did in '04? Cause, that worked real well for him.

11/5/2008 6:54:08 AM

Brain(s) Trust v2.0

Let's just hope it isn't another Kitchen Cabinet.

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 6:58 AM. Reason : ---]

11/5/2008 6:57:49 AM

Quote :

"Breast inspector - Bill Clinton"

I lol'd

11/5/2008 1:24:04 PM

wonder if Rahm Emanuel accept the chief of staff position?

OH NOES BLACKS AND JEWS RUNNING SHIT!

11/5/2008 1:34:20 PM

Quote :

"Secretary of Environment - Gore"

Informed voter.

11/5/2008 1:48:59 PM

if Gore has any position in the new government we're fucked. to be honest the fear that he would, if Obama was elected, was a significant factor in why I didn't consider voting for him.

[Edited on November 5, 2008 at 2:10 PM. Reason : tr00, this a little better?]

11/5/2008 2:04:25 PM

^ grammar head hurt

11/5/2008 2:09:11 PM

UPDATE 2:40: Rahm Emanuel has accepted the post of Obama's Chief of Staff.

11/5/2008 2:57:26 PM

good pick.

he would have been dumb not to accept it.

11/5/2008 3:04:49 PM

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/8091986/the_enforcer/

Quote :

"Friends and enemies agree that the key to Emanuel's success is his legendary intensity. There's the story about the time he sent a rotting fish to a pollster who had angered him. There's the story about how his right middle finger was blown off by a Syrian tank when he was in the Israeli army. And there's the story of how, the night after Clinton was elected, Emanuel was so angry at the president's enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting "Dead! . . . Dead! . . . Dead!" and plunging the knife into the table after every name. "When he was done, the table looked like a lunar landscape," one campaign veteran recalls. "It was like something out of The Godfather. But that's Rahm for you." Of the three stories, only the second is a myth -- Emanuel lost the finger to a meat slicer as a teenager and never served in the Israeli army. But it's a measure of his considerable reputation as the enforcer in Clinton's White House that so many people believe it to be true. You don't earn the nickname "Rahmbo" being timid."

11/5/2008 3:14:20 PM

not sure how i feel about rahm. seems like the guy's personality is completely opposite of obama's, but his strong-arm tactics could get things done.

11/5/2008 9:33:24 PM

Obama would do well to avoid Chicago cronies and Clinton hold overs.

11/5/2008 9:36:55 PM

Robert Gibbs named Press Secretary.
Not a cabinet position, but I mention it b/c he's a NCSU grad
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/06/robert-gibbs-obamas-press_n_141752.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gibbs

11/6/2008 1:30:02 PM

The question should be whether or not Obama can control Emanuel. An enforcer like Emanuel can be a powerful tool for a strong president particularly in shepherding policies and proposals, but if Obama can't control him, then you'll have the same sort of craziness you got in Dubya's administration (perfect example of a staff that was out of control).

11/6/2008 2:42:53 PM

the appointment of emanuel proves where obama's true intentions lie and all that centerist crap was just that; crap

emanuel is about as hard-core liberal as it comes and obama is as well. he did a good job of hiding it in the election but he voted liberal 98% of the time while in senate. most liberal senator other than kennedy i believe.

not trying to take all these jabs at obama but this appointment does show clearly what his intentions are now that he is officially in the white house.

11/6/2008 2:43:14 PM

Good lord, at least wait until he picks his entire cabinet before you start looking for ways to complain.

He'll put some republicans in his cabinet, probably at Secretary of State and maybe one or two others.

11/6/2008 3:23:50 PM

^not necessarily complaining, just pointing out that his first appointment in a major position goes with his history as an extreme leftist and not the centerist approach that he ran with during the election.

i do believe that he will put a couple of people that are more conservative in positions as well but i think this first appointment sets the trend for how he wants to run the white house, esp. if it is his chief of staff

11/6/2008 3:37:01 PM

Calling ANY American politician an "extreme leftist" is pretty idiotic.

11/6/2008 3:40:48 PM

not when comparing them to other american politicians

no one is comparing his appointments to people in france. they are comparing them to other people in this country; and when doing that calling obama and emanuel extreme leftists based on their voting records and ideologies is not moronic

[Edited on November 6, 2008 at 3:43 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 6, 2008 at 3:44 PM. Reason : .]

11/6/2008 3:41:31 PM

drudge
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/elections/national/Bamalot_Obama_Drafts_Star-Studded_Short_List.html

* Items to note- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was named as a potential candidate for Secretary of Energy in Oct and is still front runner... lol wut?

11/6/2008 3:48:46 PM

Quote :

"goes with his history as an extreme leftist"

Quote :

"about as hard-core liberal as it comes and obama is as well. he did a good job of hiding it in the election but he voted liberal 98% of the time while in senate. most liberal senator other than kennedy i believe."

Turn off Hannity for a while, please.

11/6/2008 3:54:40 PM

why in the fuck would an actor-turned-governor be named Secretary of Energy?

what possible qualifications can Arnold Goddamn Schwarzenegger have to be Secretary of Energy?

11/6/2008 3:55:02 PM

A solid bipartisan track record as Governor of CA, enacting laws to curb emissions and promote renewable energy, including the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Million Solar Roofs law?

11/6/2008 4:06:07 PM

^^ paper qualifications haven't appeared to be important this year.

11/6/2008 4:06:57 PM

obama is qualified on paper to be president. besides the constitutional requirements, he's demonstrated leadership, and more importantly got the vote.

but i would hope his cabinet positions have education, training, and demonstrated industry experience specific to the field they are supposed to manage

11/6/2008 4:16:33 PM

Quote :

"no one is comparing his appointments to people in france. they are comparing them to other people in this country; and when doing that calling obama and emanuel extreme leftists based on their voting records and ideologies is not moronic"

When you say "extreme" leftist, that has a very negative connotation. If your goal is to try and confuse or enrage a crowd of people, you may be able to get away with this technicality. But in reality, it just makes you look like a partisan hack. You'd call Chavez an extreme leftist, not Emanuel.

11/6/2008 4:19:37 PM

^^^^^i dunno, unless arnold is getting complete credit for clearing up the california energy crisis? doesn't really make sense to me either, although i kinda stopped paying too much attention to california politics after i left and gray davis got played like a chump.

Quote :

"He could tell Republicans to shove it, and then do what he wants."

i don't think republicans really have to fear this. i'm sure he would like to run again in 2012, so a track record of not reaching across the aisle may hurt him four years from now. however, i'm sure he'll be timid to be bipartisan until republicans can re-invent themselves after the disaster of this election's lack of a true conservative identity.

[Edited on November 6, 2008 at 4:29 PM. Reason : ]

11/6/2008 4:19:58 PM

Quote :

" i would hope his cabinet positions have education, training, and demonstrated industry experience specific to the field they are supposed to manage"

LOL you get an energy industry guy running the Dept of Energy and Dems will scream bloody murder.

Fox guarding the henhouse and whatnot.

[Edited on November 6, 2008 at 4:21 PM. Reason : 2]

11/6/2008 4:20:30 PM

Quote :

"obama is qualified on paper to be president."

He has no executive experience, he is considered something of a lightweight by other senators and . . . well there really isn't anything else job experience-wise. There are plenty of ivy-league graduates running for office who have had local "community organizer" type jobs. He sold America on his qualifications as a transformative leader and a visionary. I'm not saying he can't hack the job, but is paper resume is rather thin. Had he been a white male in the primaries he would have lost to Hillary. Period.


Schwarzenegger is the governor of the most energy progressive state in the nation, has practical experience dealing with the problems of implementing tight energy controls, and has shown the ability to work with a legislative body to pass his agenda. I'm not saying he's the best candidate, but he's certainly as qualified to be Energy Secretary as Obama is to be the president. Besides, Secretaries don't have to be specialists. They need to have a vision close to the president and the ability to work as a bridge between the "experts" and the people who will be affected by these decisions. He has to have the ability and motivation to drive an agenda. I dynamic and charismatic SoE could be just the trick for reinforcing Obama's energy policy. A book smart but wonkish nerd probably wouldn't accomplish that.

Quote :

"He could tell Republicans to shove it, and then do what he wants."

By all accounts Obama is extremely sensitive to polls. He also needs a friendly legislature to back his proposals. If he did that he'd just be a Democratic George Bush.

11/6/2008 4:55:43 PM

Quote :

"By all accounts Obama is extremely sensitive to polls"

what accounts?

11/6/2008 6:04:02 PM

It is something I've picked up reading about him during the campaign. I don't have specific examples right now, so take it or leave it as you will. I'll post more if I stumble on one of them again.

11/6/2008 6:21:15 PM

^so, basically, you made it up....nice...

11/6/2008 9:15:48 PM

No. I picked it up in the Economist. I picked it up off NPR's It's All Politics, FORA.tv podcasts, internet articles, I just can't reference which specific ones off the top of my head.

Like I said, take it or leave it, it doesn't change my overall point that, "on paper" Obama was probably the second least qualified of the Democratic candidates and the less qualified of the two presidential candidates. Paper doesn't always matter though.

11/6/2008 9:43:54 PM

he may need to be willing to listen an compromise, but if who he picked for his COS is any indication of his desire for aggressive, liberal change, well, his cabinet may look a little more "left" than he initially claimed.

11/6/2008 9:48:19 PM

Quote :

"He has no executive experience, he is considered something of a lightweight by other senators "

Lincoln had practically no executive experience either when he took the reins of a crumbling country. There is always the potential that Obama would step up to the plate when it's needed. Some democrats can still be pretty effective war leaders.

The appointment of Rahm Emanuel as COS is interesting. Although Emanuel is a rabid democrat, he's also one tough cookie...which is what Obama might need.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is already testing the waters by threatening to base warheads along the Polish border if Obama goes forward with Bush's missile shield in Eastern Europe.

I hope Pres. Obama rattles his sabre a little during his inauguration speech- kind of like Kennedy

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

With the world knowing so little about Obama's mettle, the risk is there that some might assume he is a paper tiger. It would be good for him to say or do something that shows the world how dangerous it would be to mess with him.

11/6/2008 10:25:17 PM

Quote :

"obama is qualified on paper to be president."

come on...

11/6/2008 11:19:56 PM