Dear Mr. Almost President

While most of the polls and pundits have all but declared you, Sen. Obama, the winner of the November 4th election, you have wisely cautioned your workers and supporters to refrain from celebrating and assuming that the election is in the bag. You are correct to keep all of them on the job up to and including Election Day.

To become cocky and take things for granted is to flirt with danger and invite defeat due to laxity.

However, barring a McCain miracle, a major gaffe by you or some serious breach of national security (i.e. terrorism), you will win this election! Given this reality, if you have not already, it is now time for you and your advisers to begin giving serious consideration to some of the concerns that have been expressed by the leadership of the African-American community.

SOME ADVICE ON APPOINTMENTS

While I am sure that you and your advisers have already given a great deal of serious thought to the kind of persons you will include in your administration, I would like to offer a few suggestions:

Since you have declared that you will have an administration that will reach across the aisle and include Republicans and Independents, the first Republican that should be on your list for appointment is former Secretary of State Colin Powell. If you intend to regain American respect amongst the nations of the world, Secretary Powell should be your first appointment as your personal representative and ambassador at-large to open a dialogue with Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea. This, I hope, will lead to face-to-face talks, the normalization of relations with these nations, a speedy withdrawal from Iraq and a solution to the question of nuclear arms by Iran and North Korea. Secretary Powell is the only person in this country who has the prestige, international respect, and the diplomatic skills to address these thorny problems that will be one of your immediate concerns on January 21.

In this period of economic meltdown and the fact that you will likely be saddled with a worldwide economic mess, you will need a team around you comprised of the best and brightest economic and financial minds in the country. Thus, John Rogers of Ariel Capital Management should be appointed Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers or to the Federal Reserve Board.

Your Africa policy team must be not only knowledgeable about the problems of Africa and its people, but they must have the matching dedication and vision that will allow you to make serious and measurable changes in the conditions of the African people. The problems of Darfur, Chad, Somalia and the Congo are of immediate concern. If you are to be taken seriously as a foreign policy leader, you must dedicate major resources to the solution of AIDS and hunger in Africa. Perhaps the appointment of a person like Samantha Power as the lead person on the Africa team, supported by strong African-American scholars like John Higginson of the University of Massachusetts and Pearl T. Robinson of Tufts University would be ideal.

Because you will need a strong domestic adviser and policy team who understand the need to assist in the transition to the society of change you have outlined, perhaps you will want to look at Melissa Lacewell-Harris of Princeton University and Dianne Pinderhughes of Notre Dame University.

To assure the needed cleanup of the election process in this nation, please consider Lance Gough of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners for Chair of the Federal Elections Commission and Alex Willingham of Williams College as a member.

Dr. Eric Whitaker is your best bet for Surgeon General or Director of the Center for Disease Control and Congressman Danny K. Davis for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

These are just some of the initial thoughts that I have for appointments. Please understand that the African-American community has invested a great deal of trust and faith in you and your administration. I am sure it will be impossible for you to live up to all of the expectations coming from black Americans (and from any other group of your supporters). However, please keep in mind that an honest attempt to satisfy these expectations is absolutely necessary.

Mr. Almost President, with the mandate that has been given to you by the American people of all races, creeds and colors it is time that you move onto the world stage on January 21 in the boldest manner of any president in history. You must set the pace for the 21st Century and be that real agent of change. Remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963, "Are we to be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremist for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? ... Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists." We are counting on you to be a creative extremist for justice and change!

Comments

[Integro]

Bob,

Your recommendation of Eric Whitaker for Surgeon General or Director of CDC may be based on spending some engaging time in his presence. It cannot be based on his accomplishments as the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Dr. Whitaker stood virtually alone in the Public Health Community in his efforts to derail implementation of every piece of patient safety legislation enacted since 2003. His obstructionism, his contempt for enacted legislation and his failure to lead an honest policy-making process within the Illinois Public Health Department and within the public health community resulted in the debilitation of the Agency, led to loss of professional talent from the Agency, and lost years in the State's attempt to improve patient safety, medical quality and metrics. His was a disappointing, lackluster administration, but certainly not without focus.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

"the first Republican that should be on your list for appointment is former Secretary of State Colin Powell. "

Thanks for the laugh.

[bearthecuffs]

Obama should appoint Geoffrey Canada as Secretary of Education. Mr. Canada's work in Harlem with the Harlem Children's Zone is successful, replicable, and provides a real benefit to kids, families, and society as a whole. Plus he's an EXCELLENT speaker, and would be the perfect spokesperson for the educational priorities proposed by Senator Obama.

Check out http://www.hcz.org

[Beca]

I am sorry, but I srtongly feel that Barack Obama needs to appoint the most qualified people to his cabinet posts, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc. That is the only way we can get America on tack and onto a potiive venue. The candidates who have the best qualifications for the jobs are the ones who should be considered. With that said, there are plenty of highly skilled and qualified people who are members of communities of color, so I am sure that basing his appointments on qualifications and relavant skills will not shut anyone out.
Placing a pre-condition that he must prioritize his appointments on members of communities of color is an unfair demand to make of him--

[Edmonsky]

If Obama wins, Gen. Colin Powell will be indispensible to the success of his administration as inside or outside adviser. Anybody who blames Powell for his role that led to Iraq war needs to expand his or her knowledge on what transpired. Secretary of State can advise the president but accepting such advice solely depends on the president. There were many forces beyond Powell’s control.

For instance, President Bush wanted to use that opportunity to accomplish what his father could not by going to Bagdad to overthrow Saddam. The plot to invade Iraq started quite earlier than most people could ever imagine. The intel’ was manipulated by Chenney and Rumsfeld. Could Powell have resigned when he was not sure if the intel’ was legit or not. If he did, he would have been blamed that he would have prevented the war and he chickened out. The trio of President Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld fenced Powell off from the inside-core decision making process because they knew that Powell would have opposed the war if he had known all the subterranian machinations that took place.

[peskypesky]

I completely disagree. I do not think Colin Powell, who lied to the American people and to the entire world and helped begin an unneccessary war, should be a part of the Obama administration. While I'm glad he endorsed Obama over McCain, it's not because I respect him, but because I know a lot of Americans still do.

I would much rather see Bill Clinton as Secretary of State. He is someone who is still beloved and respected throughout the world, and he did not spend his entire adult life as a member of the Republican Party, as Powell did. I cannot imagine anyone thinking one endorsement somehow makes up for ALL those years serving the Bushes, Rove and Cheney.

[ZimboChick]

beloved to you

[Vasey]

I toatlly agree that Colin Powell can help the next administration immensely . Obama will easily regain Powell's trust after he was lied to and burned by Bush and Chaney. Powell is an extremely experienced and intellectual military diplomat who would be a perfect ambassador to Middle East Countries.
Also I think Senator Obama understands that even though he is ahead in the polls, he can never take the American people for granted. That's what will make him such a special President.

[FromADistance]

New Hampshire.

[Artos]

Bob,
My suggestion for someone that Obama would find helpful as an adviser is Nourielle Roubini .The man is smart, knows what he is talking about and is a straight shooter on economics. As a Black man you wish to start setting the world to rights in Africa. I'm not going to say I disagree with your interest, but before we start heaping all of these expectations on Barack I think we should allow him the time to get things here at home taken care of first. . We should put a complete halt to immigration and use our resources to make the people already in it better off by taking care of the poor and those who have been deprived of essential services and needs. We need jobs for our own people . We need to bring some real equity to our own citizens of all ethnic groups. We need to give ourselves time to assimilate all of those who have been left out. This seems to me to be enough of a task in and of itself. So yes I understand that you would be interested in saving Africa, but before we can do that we have to take care of African/ Americans as well as everyone else here at home first. This is and should be our priority. Sadly we aren't nearly as strong economically as we once were and our resources can only go so far.

[catzoned]

I really have to strongly agree with with your post, Artos. Obama is getting heck for his belief in the redistibution of wealth theory but I so strongly agree with it and I cannot keep my keyboard still. Social Security benefits was considered a "redistribution of wealth" in those dark times of our history and thank the Heavens it has stayed on as policy. Yes, those staggeringly wealthy 1% of our country should pay as much tax as the working single parents or person.Cut the tax breaks for those companies who moved to foreign lands for corporate profiteering (and oil companies). I believe if they were truly patriots they would bring their companies back to the USA and employ Americans. (AOL, are you watching?) And, speaking of Africa, that is the one place where I actually see "trickle down economics" happening. Bill Gates, Oprah, President Clinton and his gang of philanthropists are throwing money away - to Africa! Where is the money and food for homeless Veterans, women and children in America? However, we shouldn't close our borders to all immigrants yet. We need scientists, engineers, and nurses and doctors - because higher level education costs too much right now. We need to change that right away. Thank you for your post and letting me stand on my "soapbox" for this stuff. You brought up important issues, Artos.

[master09]

Powell SecDEF this is the only job he should have

[super]

Wow! This is surreal! The guy who touted lies to help sell the disastrous invasion of Iraq to the UN being recommended as ambassador at-large to Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea. That should make us REAL popular and probably help push all those countries into going nuclear. Come to think of it, why not include Condi too? She's black, Republican AND a woman. How retarded do you think Obama is? "Secretary Powell is the only person in this country who has the prestige, international respect, and the diplomatic skills..." Don't sell your country short; just off the top of my head I can name half a dozen other equally qualified people, at least as respected internationally (John Wesley Clark, Madeline Albright, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Chuck Hagel). If Powell wants redemption, he can earn it in private life, not at the expense of the country. Name a successful diplomatic effort that Powell is known for. This is the kind of thinking that holds up Sarah Palin as an "energy expert."

[Lulliloo]

Hello Super. I suggest you get your facts straight before you start trashing someone of immeasurably more accomplishment and intellectual integrity than yourself with your shallow, totally wrong assessments about Colin Powell. As you are unwilling to "redeem yourself" I shall do it for you. Though I can understand the visceral reactions of people who do not know the facts behind that presentation. You were "mushroomed" (kept in the dark and fed s!!t) just like Colin Powell and millions of other Americans were. Mr. Powell was lied to, deceived and mushroomed by Cheney, Bush and yet unspecified members of the intelligence community and those of the administration filtering the intelligence reports & by hiding vital intel reports about the unreliability of those sources. I seek to help set the record straight as I see many hateful things being said out of sheer ignorance of the facts about Colin Powell.

I've always admired Mr Powell's the depth and breadth of Mr. Powell's understanding of foreign policy, his steady, unemotional, clear, honest and wise judgement and abilities to lead. I, like many of you were dismayed at the time by his presentation regarding the WMDs etc at the U.N. I could see that his heart was not in it.

I suggest you absorbe this excerpt at the Aspen Institute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZTLmOoPzjs&feature=related

And for a greater appreciation of this great man, here is the entire interview at Aspen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZTLmOoPzjs&feature=related

[StiffMittens]

You want to undo the previous 8 years of good ole boy cronyism (not to mention a quarter century of Reagan worship) with affirmative action? Not good enough. Affirmative action may have it's merits, but so far it really doesn't appear to have solved the inequities of our society. What makes you think it will get us out of the mess that BushCo made? Obama's smarter than that and you should now it by now.

[candlepower]

I'll have to trust that Powell has done enough to make up for his failure to stop cheney and Bush and Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz over the iraq build-up. Come to think of it, that sounds like he was out-numbered.

[DangitRuss]

Don't forget Condi. It was five on one. And they didn't give him all of the information upfront.

[ElBruce]

I think Powell would be a natural for SecDef. I know he's already done SecState, and that's considered higher profile, but I bet he's got a lot of ideas for what a 21st century military should look like. Besides, military doctrine is the only thing he's ever really gotten right.

[Artos]

ElBruce,

Yes, I would have to agree with that suggestion of yours, SecDef is more in line with his area of expertise. But I would expect to hear one thing from him publicly first. An admission that he was wrong about the Iraq war and wrong for supporting Bush in his desire to have it. That would be his act of contrition. I think it would set a good example for a hell of a lot of other stumble bums who have made stupid mistakes to date.

[sureflow]

We do not need an article like this one. The system allows for us to vote in a President who will then pick his advisers and by extension his team. Do you want to change the constituiton and have the electorate vote for his team? Please get off that high horse.

[catzoned]

I disagree, we need this conversation. Everyone has an opinion that should be at least considered before discarded or accepted. This is the time to consider a lot of differing opinions. And people learn by experience, so let this author test drive his theory and see how well it lands. It took brave women and blacks to keep voicing their opinions before it became acceptable to even - get the Right To Vote!

[Artos]

catzoned,

I know that this may not seem true since most folks of modern times aren't always as informed about history as they should be, but it's also true that not all White males were created equal in our brand new Country. A lot of mutinies and riots took place in our early colonies after the Revolution because many of the self same men who had just fought for our independence were by law excluded from voting. A not too well known fact is that some of our illustrious Founding Fathers didn't believe that your average "Joe the Plumber" was smart enough, or worthy enough to have a say in this new government. They felt that this job should be left to the Landed Gentry who still had a touch of the Upper Class Aristocratic arrogance that they brought with them from England. So to make a long story short, white males also had to fight for their right to vote.