"Better Than Cats!" Neocons, Republicans and War Criminals Rave About Obama's 'Team of Rivals.'
As Barack Obama's opus, "Team of Rivals," continues its rolling debut, the early reviews are in and the "critics" are full of praise for the cast:
"[T]he new administration is off to a good start."
--Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell.
"[S]uperb...the best of the Washington insiders...this will be a valedictocracy -- rule by those who graduate first in their high school classes."
--David Brooks, conservative New York Times columnist
"[V]irtually perfect..."
--Senator Joe Lieberman, former Democrat and John McCain's top surrogate in the 2008 campaign.
"[R]eassuring."
--Karl Rove, "Bush's brain."
"I am gobsmacked by these appointments, most of which could just as easily have come from a President McCain...this all but puts an end to the 16-month timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, the unconditional summits with dictators, and other foolishness that once emanated from the Obama campaign...[Hillary] Clinton and [James] Steinberg at State should be powerful voices for 'neo-liberalism' which is not so different in many respects from 'neo-conservativism.'"
--Max Boot, neoconservative activist, former McCain staffer.
"I see them as being sort of center-right of the Democratic party."
--James Baker, former Secretary of State and the man who led the theft of the 2000 election.
"[S]urprising continuity on foreign policy between President Bush's second term and the incoming administration....certainly nothing that represents a drastic change in how Washington does business. The expectation is that Obama is set to continue the course set by Bush..."
--Michael Goldfarb of the neoconservative Weekly Standard.
"I certainly applaud many of the appointments..."
--Senator John McCain
"So far, so good."
-- Senator Lamar Alexander, senior Republican Congressional leader.
Hillary Clinton will be "outstanding" as Secretary of State
--Henry Kissinger, war criminal.
Rahm Emanuel is "a wise choice" in the role of Chief of Staff
--Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, John McCain's best friend.
Obama's team shows "Our foreign policy is non-partisan."
--Ed Rollins, top Republican strategist and Mike Huckabee's 2008 campaign manager
"The country will be in good hands."
--Condoleezza Rice, George W Bush's Secretary of State
**Team of Rivals will be playing all day, every day for at least the next four years**
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"--Henry Kissinger, war criminal."
Thank you Mr. Scahill for telling it like it is.
I'm not worried about Obama. He needs his Right flank protected when he cuts and refocuses the military & intell budgets & explains reality to the Israeli government.
"when he cuts and refocuses the military & intell budgets & explains reality to the Israeli government
Dream on, man. Dream on.
looooool
obama fed everyone dreams,and dreams that where it will stop for the next 4 yrs
Free Howard Dean!!
George Bush could'nt have done all the damage that he did without the help of the republican senate and the house , they gave him everything he wanted and he gave them everything they wanted. Their all as guilty as he is. These are not your daddy's republicans, their mean, nasty, and cold hearted and they will try to screw you every time.
"George Bush could'nt have done all the damage that he did without the help of the republican senate and the house..."
And all the Democrats that voted right along with them. Like Hillary Clinton... and even Barack Obama! and certainly Dianne Feinstein, my own Senator. And plenty others.
Up to a certain point your right, their all just politicians and if they allowed them selfs to be brow beaten, threatened, and lied to by the majority than their just as complisite as they were, but it was'nt them that hung those people out to dry in new orleans and than defended the Bush administration for doing it. They did'nt torture prisoners of war and than defended the Bush administration for doing it. They did'nt out a secret agent and than defend the Bush administration by saying she was'nt an agent when she was. I can go on and on and on but I think you get my point. And now we wecome them into our administration to show us how they did it. Was'nt that done about 63 years ago.
Hopefully its a shared power scheme that will benefit the American people. We can't throw the babies out with the bathwater, can we? There is always great risk in hope. Hope is as hollow as fear. I prefer to have faith in the way things are. If you do not trust people, you make them untrustworthy. Spokes are joined together in a wheel, but it is the center hub that makes them move. Obama is the center hub. As long as he leads from the center without trying to control his appointed Cabinet ought to move our country forward. I trust Obama's inner vision; events must take their own course to manifest it. Hold on to the Center. If we do, I believe these government officials will embody the principals we wish to see in our leadership.
Babies and bathwater, eh? How about one bad apple spoils the barrel.
I hope his team is cover to make the hard deals and propose the new left leaning policies we of net root world hope he does! Time is short and he better come out swinging relatively soon on a number of fronts! Keep in mind most cabinet secs rarely serve out full 4 yr terms or more,,,,,,
With this team of rivals in place, Obama is in a much better position to make deals that may benefit the progressive movement. Remember the Republicans still have enough power in the Senate to filibuster everything except the budget. Progressives profit if Obama finds himself in a position to talk to key Republican leaders of the House and Senate. Obama must determine what the Republicans want and be willing to let them have some of it in exchange for votes to pass legislation supported by progressives. An inclusive Obama makes deal-making somewhat smoother and easier. To that end, I firmly support Obama's effort to neuter partisanship.
As expected, and right on time, the neocon crowd is morphing into support of whoever is in power. These people are parasitic by nature and will soon attempt to attach themselves to Obama, as they did Bush, as a host from which they will draw sustanance for their continued delusional agenda. My guess is that Obama is expecting this and is smart enough to avoid that fate.
I have the highest respect for Jeremy Scahill. And the work that he does.
And, I trust that he well knows with the country in crises, and the world under attack, Obama will have to draw on some of the experience of the Clinton administration "retreads" because we can't waste the time on training Dennis Kucinich acolytes, and other progressives, on how to even find the men's restrooms in the White House and the Pentagon.
Progressives have been so.......n
Gonna take a while.
Obama will always take heat from the fringe members of the party. Some people will only be happy if Denis Kucinich is Secretary of Defense and the Cabinet is full of partisan cronies.
Obama made clear his intention to surround himself with diverse voices; don't forget that all Cabinet members work for him and serve his agenda. Underestimate Obama at your own credibility's peril.
Diverse voices? What is diverse about it? He's surrounding himself with neoconservatives and neoliberals. Republicans and the conservative-wing of the Democratic Party. It would be diverse if he also had a single person left of center on foreign policy. I like the idea of getting differing opinions, and not being hyperpartisan. But judging by his appointments, Obama is going to pursue an aggressive foreign policy. People wanted change, especially in foreign policy, and for some reason, it does not appear that Obama is willing to go in a new direction. I'm not underestimating him, because there isn't much left to estimate. Its pretty clear already. I hope I'm wrong. And its not just Kucinich supporters that are angry. Its everyone left of center.
I don't think necessarily everyone left of center is "angry" with Obama, in fact I'm sure of that.
And to say that one can predict Obama's foriegn policy direction based on his new hires, is to imply that Obama won't be the one who decides the fundamental principles of his own administration. Which would mean he isn't qualified to be President to begin with.
Maybe we should wait until he's been President for more than minus two months before we condemn his foreign policy.
I'm left of center - and I amnot opposed to anybody but the Clintons. The safest way to pull of Iraq - both for American forces and for the Iraqis is by keeping the situation as stable as possible. The timeline that Obama promised isn't campaign rheotric either - it is now signed and plans are already beginning. It would be senseless to change leadership now.
If nothing changes at GITMO - THEN I will be a lot more than angry.
Yes, Obama is fulfilling his promise to reach out to the right wing. I don't understand how so many people assumed without any evidence whatsoever that Obama was going to be "progressive". I heard it from MoveOn, but I never heard it from Obama himself.
Any time a monster like Kissinger endorses someone, you know that person is not only NOT progressive, but is someone of whom we should be very suspicious.
Our best and only chance of influencing Obama is large-scale grass-roots activism. Just like with every politician before him.
You people make me laugh, all his appointees will be working to make his agenda a reality, not theirs. They, just happen to be the best in their feild, the change will be coming from him not them. It's time you stopped trying to second guess Obama, because you will find that he is right and you are wrong.
Well, the best in their fields are NOT on the economic team, sorry!
"They, just happen to be the best in their feild,"
The best in their field? Oh really? Hmm.
1) prove it. you can't. Do you mean the best at making the most money at the expense of the masses? or, just, the best? Be specific.
2) do some research on the 'best' you speak of. That does NOT mean watch Keith O for your facts. Does it open your eyes ....... finally?
Obama's voting record has been fairly progressive, various anecdotal evidence showed he was probably more progressive than American voters would like, and if you didn't hear it from Obama himself, you must not have listened much. Although the word "progressive" has changed in meaning in recent years. If you mean it as in Kucinich/Nader types, who support noninterventionist policies and democratic socialism, then yes, Obama was never a progressive in that sense. But he was certainly the most liberal democrat to actually have a chance at winning in decades.
Also, Kissinger did NOT endorse Obama. He endorsed McCain. I'm going to assume you're referring to his praise of Hillary Clinton, in which case I'd agree with you.
This is like hiring a new coach and hooting and whistling from the sidelines at every pick he makes in the draft. If his agenda is progressive, perhaps center right ground troops are one way to attack the issue, a drowsy right wing, really down to a few expected strident talk shows, could help in a quick execution of a well planned 100 day strategy. I can't see the harm in giving it a try. He is attempting to make the shift from Bush to Obama seamlessly and part of doing that is to create a frictionless environment for such a transition to occur. We are in shaky times, financially, strategically, geopolitically and the President Elect has to kung fu this into a positive administration. Let's at least let him assume office and get those three months or so behind him before the honeymoon is over.
Obama is a wise man and he knows what he is doing. He wants to survive.
These articles are for the simple minded that believes everything and can not think for themselves. So yes that is the sad part!
How about "Better than fahrenheit 9/11". Sorry you thought Obama was Denis K. you were wrong, and from the looks of it , Obama thinks Bush was right on a few things.
If I wanted Denis K., I would have voted for him. I am very happy with Obama, thank you.
Get over it after all you trusted him so give him a break there is a reason he ran a campaing and won
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