Obama Taps Veteran Democrats For Pentagon, State Handovers

WASHINGTON — President-elect Obama has hired former Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sam Nunn to help shepherd his Pentagon transition, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Nunn, a former Georgia senator and veteran Democratic defense adviser, was once rumored as a potential running mate for Obama. Transition spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Nunn will perform "an informal senior adviser role throughout the defense transition process."

Nunn's role has been described by others, speaking anonymously because the transition teams have not been announced, as the leader of Obama's defense transition. Similarly, a senior administration official said former Secretary of State Warren Christopher would advise Obama on his State Department transition.

Obama's national security transition offices will work with the outgoing Bush administration to hand off management of two wars and complex diplomacy with North Korea, Russia and other nations. Obama has not announced his choices to be defense secretary and secretary of state.

Nunn and Christopher would be part of a national security brain trust for Obama that is heavy on former Clinton administration officials, including possible national security adviser James Steinberg, a former State Department official.

At the Pentagon, the large transition office would likely include former Clinton Navy Secretary Richard Danzig and former Clinton-era Pentagon comptroller Bill Lynn, officials said. The announcements are expected later this week.

"There's a lot of disinformation out there," Cutter said. "We're working hard to put the agenda review teams together and expect they'll be announced and inside the agencies by the end of the week."

Clinton Pentagon officials turned think tankers Michele Flournoy and Kurt Campbell are also mentioned as part of the Obama transition office at the Pentagon. Clinton-era State Department officials Wendy Sherman and Tom Donilon are mentioned in similar roles at State.

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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Robert Burns contributed to this report.

Comments

[Cybersquirt]

The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.
- Albert Einstein.

[rdiaz921]

Sometimes you need a nice mix of "old" and "new" to get things done. This will give you balance. The old has been there and will lend their experience. The "new" will drive the organization into a different direction.

Obama does not strike me as the type of person who will not make changes if proven wrong, unlike Bush.

Trust him. He's not President yet. Wait at least a year, then you can complain and criticize. Until then, sit back, wait - be patient and quitchabitchin.

[STG 44]

Chuck Norris for Secretary of Defense. Only then we will have to rename the Defense Department the OFFENSE Department!

[Cybersquirt]

as far as I'm concerned "chuck norris" has been president for the last eigth years and I don't think that's worked out so well, so "thanks but no thanks".

[partyofone]

I understand that staff the transition with veterans of past administrations is prudent. But can Obama show us some glimmer of CHANGE. You don't see even a flicker of it in warmed over Clintonites. After all, they helped construct the mess we are in.

[reliant1]

The change he promised may not be seen for years!!!!!!

He promised better outcomes not a bunch of different faces.

[Cybersquirt]

Oh? Which mess would that be? The bank failures? The deregulation legislation passed by a VETO-PROOF margin. The Iraq war? WJC continued GHWB's policy, basically. So what "mess" are you referring to?

We are agreed on "warmed over Clintonites" - Surely there's some new, truly liberal, blood out there.

[dagdavid]

There's gotta be someone out there younger than 93 years of age who might be suitable.

[Allamr18]

this is good stuff, you guys are missing something if you think hes doing same old same old. you realize in 92 clinton tried to do everything from outside the beltway and his first two years were horrible. his original chief of staff was terrible and things were chaotic at best. you get senior officials who know how things run and then you cant but new blood new minds in positions to affect change. be patient its only been 1 week and you guys are criticizing not his staff but his transition team.

[partyofone]

But could Obama come up with something that signals change, anything?

[reliant1]

How about results?

Some positive results...that would be a change wouldn't it.

Who cares what the agents of change look like or used to do - just so long as they make positve legislative and national policy changes.

This impatience signals less of a desire for the outcomes and more of a desire for cosmetics - show me change and show me now.

[sherbug]

In the last 40 years, the Democrats have been in power only 12 of those years. The people from the Clinton Administration are the only ones to pull from if you want people who have actual experience. The people from the Carter Administration are dead or have gotten too old. Christopher is probably the only one left that has served in both the Carter and the Clinton Administrations. Obama could go out and get fresh new faces, but why should he when he can draw upon the knowledge and experience of these two senior statesmen.

As we all saw from his campaign, disorganization is not an option. I say we all stop hyperventilating and let him assemble his team of advisers. Would you rather he select someone like Sarah Palin, who is fresh and new, but inexperienced and incapable.

[HerbTee]

I think some of you folks are far too critical of Barack's efforts for advisement and transition from senior members of previous administrations. It's hard to bring about change if it is done haphazardly, without forethought and without guidance from those who may have tried to implement changes but could not. What is wrong with having experienced people advising you during the transition from one administration (Bush) to a new one (Obama).

The man is trying to do this in a very intelligent and very analytical way. Many voters roundly criticized Barack for having lack of political experience or lack of years in Washington. Now that he's the President-elect, some of you are now criticizing him for hiring senior experienced advisers for his transition teams. I say...let the man do his work, his research and look at all options of bipartisan counsel and advisement placed before him! That will help make him a more informed and wiser leader when he takes the oath. Obama cannot walk on water and he is not going to part any seas. But he can make a difference and we the voters who helped elect him should give him that trust... unless he performs otherwise.

[bayarea000]

so far not much of a change. change we can believe in? none!!! (or maybe NUNN) thought we might get a progressive, same ole!!!

[floydknight]

Do you even know what the role of a president's advisor is? Apparently not.

[CeciliaBertrand]

you watch too much TV!

[southernfried]

on the transition team, you need some folks who have the insider experiences

because those same folks made mistakes and followed through for the rest of lives,

thats how obama can used them to reshape his team with an outside>out the box perspective

now remember we still have two wars and a terrible economy on obama hands now......

[indabush]

People who complain about those choices are missing two fundamental facts;

(1) Americans voted for change, as manifested by their hopes and dreams and verbalized by Barack; and

(2) Americans expect him to attempt to fulfill those hopes and dreams with competent personnel. People expect him to draw on the experienced talent that's available to him, not engage in a wholesale changing of the guard with people who have no governmental experience.

Barack will inject new blood in there. His administration will comprise of people with varying degrees of experience. If you notice, he's drawing on talent for advice on the most important departments; State, Treasury, Defense. The other departments I am certain he will bring in new blood with considerable experience as well. We have to be patient and wait - it's only been 8 days since we spoke. Allow him some time to put things in place before we render judgement. We have 8 years of crap to sift through - it's going to be a hard slog. Let's allow him to get his advisers and department heads in place to lead us through the wreakage of the Bush/Cheney years.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Washington DC.

[shireenj]

You have put it succinctly and beautifully .... thankyou from HEAPS of us in Australia .... gosh, wish everyone in the USA had your insight!!!!
This is not an immediate "fix" ... and it commands the highest and cleverest of strategies ... that's what you darling Americans have voted for ... the FINEST ... and, you got it!!! We are so thrilled ....

[Jahmekyah]

To all the complainers so far, regarding every name they here...How many "progressive liberal democrats" are there out there who have ever worked in any administration or any cabinet post in the past 30 years??? Whats that? Precisely, NONE. So how can he hire any liberal progressive democrats to help assess the many governmental departments and there inner workings if there aren't any? Furthermore....Correct me if I'm wrong but has Obama ever confessed to being a super liberal Democrat? I don't think so. Furthermore...the last I checked the country was made up of MORE than liberal democrats...I believe, despite the machinations of urself or the right wing, the majority of the country is Moderate (centre right or centre left).

Calm down you suicidal democrats,...its only been a week...this is a transition team, not a cabinet....so far BO has been deliberate, organized, focused and expeditious. That sounds like Change to me

[shireenj]

AND I agree with you too ... you guys make me almost sorry that I don't live there anymore ... but still unbelievably happy to live in Australia .... thank heavens for all of us ... cause, when you travel the world, you realise, we really are ALL responsible for this planet ..... go USA ... we are REALLY with you now .... BIGTIME!!!!

[strifeknot]

Why is it more important to you to have inept, corrupt, experienced neoliberal than to have inexperienced yet competent progressives who will do the right thing. Nunn and Christopher didn't have experience either the first time round. What happens when they die?

[cwhiteside88]

Sam Nunn is an abhorrent individual unworthy of being in any government position for any reason.

[Jahmekyah]

He is not in a government position. It is a transition team. Do you even know Sam Nunn to say those things? You disagree with some position he took and suddenly he's "abhorrent"? If you call urself an Obama supporter, what ever happened to "we can disagree without being disagreeable"- Barack Obama.

[reliant1]

What happened? It's no fun, not amusing enough, not fast enough and it looks like it really will take hard work - there will be a drop off in the support of the instant gratification folks by the end of the year.

[HerbTee]

How so? Any facts? Any links on what he's negatively done?

[strifeknot]

Indeed.

[Buddhabman]

Change = Organization & Competence. So far so good! :-)

[Oldbuck]

President elect Obama is getting some experience help that can operate in the high pressured situation of transitional government all the people he has taped have been proven.