Promising Signs As Obama's Cabinet Shapes Up

Hillary Rodham Clinton could be an excellent choice to be the next Secretary of State. It was said that only Richard Nixon could go to China, so maybe only Hillary Clinton can go to Palestine. A favorite slogan of the neo-cons who led us into Iraq was "the road to Jerusalem runs through Baghdad," but the real "road to Jerusalem" begins in Washington, runs through Washington, and ends up in Washington. Until the Israel-Palestine conflict is ended through a just resolution there can be no lasting "peace" or "security" in the Middle East. A real Israel-Palestine settlement cannot be brought about by a sham "Generous Offer" or by another delusional application of violence like the Birth Pangs War of 2006. It must be consistent with UN Resolution 242. Having as secretary of state with impeccable pro-Israel credentials might be the best chance of getting it done.

As secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton could play the heavy with the Israeli government (for once) and demand that it makes serious concessions toward creating an independent Palestinian state. Since she is such a good friend of Israel she might be able to convince the Israelis that it is in their best interests to compromise. Maybe she can convey to them that the conflict is a cause celebre for international terrorists and the demographics of the region are not on their side. If Clinton has the strength and foresight to settle finally that festering wound in the heart of the Middle East she would be remembered as one of the greatest diplomats in history. If she dithers along and demands no sacrifices from the Israelis she'll be just another Condi Rice.

The appointment of Timothy Geithner to be Secretary of the Treasury also could be an excellent choice. The gravity of the economic collapse requires a technocrat to fill that position, a technocrat who understands Wall Street. Geithner is a far better choice than Lawrence Summers (who is still part of Obama's economic team) and being 47 years old he has far less baggage than the baby-boomer financial wizards who caused the catastrophe. He also seems to be less wedded to market fundamentalism than most captains of high finance and far more sympathetic to what President-elect Barack Obama wishes to accomplish. Bill Richardson as Secretary of Commerce is a good choice because he is friendly with organized labor and he brings political savvy to a job that is usually only reserved for union-busting free marketeers. Janet Napolitano will do a fine job at Homeland Security because after Chertoff (who should have been impeached for his criminal negligence during Hurricane Katrina) almost anybody will be infinitely better. And Tom Daschle at Human Services is a terrific choice because the pharmaceutical companies and HMOs are going to try to break the kneecaps of anyone who tries to bring elementary health care reform to the American people and Daschle knows the ways of the Congress and he just might be able to fight back.

Obama's decision to appoint Eric Holder, Jr. to be Attorney General is also promising. Like Timothy Geithner at Treasury, Eric Holder has his work cut out for him at Justice. The Department of Justice is in shambles after the Alberto Gonzales-Michael Mukasey reign of error. These Bush appointees abused their power by being highly selective in choosing whom to prosecute and what laws to enforce, and they both are guilty of politicizing large swaths of the bureaucracy. If Attorney General Holder prosecutes even a tiny fraction of the public corruption cases perpetrated by Bush Administration cronies he will be a stunning success. And as the first African American to head the Justice Department Holder might reinvigorate the now moribund Civil Rights Division. I'm confident that even a cursory look at potential violations of the Voting Rights Act will bring to light more abuses of power from the Gonzales-Mukasey years. And what about Karl Rove and his wholesale violations of the Hatch Act?

Also encouraging is Obama's choice to help him deal with Capitol Hill. Phillip Schiliro will be Obama's liaison to Congress as Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. Schiliro worked in Congress for over 25 years and was Representative Henry Waxman's chief of staff. I can't think of a better committee for the White House to coordinate its activities with than Waxman's House Oversight Committee. Waxman has been one of only a handful of Congressional representatives who is willing to take on corporate CEOs and high-ranking government officials. Schiliro rounds out the White House team with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel who knows both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue better than almost anybody. Emanuel knows how to be an enforcer, but he also knows how to stroke the fragile egos of Representatives and Senators to get things done. Clearly, Obama is determined not to make the same mistakes Bill Clinton made in 1992 when his lack of understanding of the power centers on Capitol Hill tanked his critical first two years in office.

Meanwhile, Iraqis are burning effigies of Bush in Firdos Square, the sight of the famous toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in April 2003. The Shia government of Nuri al-Maliki is so corrupt it recently fired all of its anti-corruption inspectors. Parts of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities have undergone "Gazafication" where they've become labyrinths of blast walls, earthen berms, checkpoints, and snipers' nests. The plummeting price of oil due to the global economic depression probably means Iraqis will be fighting each other over dwindling foreign exchange revenues.

The American people changed the channel on the Iraq war long ago. But it's still going to be politically dicey for Obama to begin withdrawing U.S. troops. The Right and the corporate media will blame him when fighting breaks out as the absence of American soldiers leads to power vacuums in some areas. Obama is going to need bipartisan cover. He'll need Colin Powell, Chuck Hagel, and Richard Lugar. He might even need Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on for a while to provide a Republican face to the American people as things get messy in Iraq. I have already written that I think Gates should resign to "spend more time with his family." I don't want Obama to keep him on. Gates is just Rumsfeld-Lite. But if Obama chooses to keep Gates for a time I will support his decision because he's going to need all the bipartisan cover he can get to end the occupation. And getting out of Iraq is the single most important foreign policy project facing Obama.

And speaking of Donald Rumsfeld. The New York Times thought it would be a good idea to run an op-ed by the former Defense Secretary in yesterday's Sunday edition. Amazing. Here's a guy who pulled facts and figures out of his ass for three years regarding the Iraq war telling Times readers: "The singular trait of the American way of war is the remarkable ability of our military to advance, absorb setbacks, adapt and ultimately triumph... Thus it has been throughout our history. And thus it will be in Iraq and Afghanistan... if our leaders have the wherewithal to persevere even when it is not popular to do so." Rumsfeld writes as if George W. Bush's war of choice in Iraq is something akin to World War Two. I don't know what history books Rummy is reading but the fact is the United States has never "triumphed" in a war that was unpopular at home -- Remember Vietnam?

(And can we please put James Baker III out to pasture once and for all and strip him of his ubiquitous corporate media presence as a commentator and "senior statesman?" Mr. Baker already spent all of his "political capital" in 2000 when he did everything in his power to saddle the nation with his best friend's moron son as president. And his best friend's moron son, for eight years now, has done everything in his power to devastate the middle class in this country. Eleven trillion dollars -- Poof! So, please NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN et al. -- drop this Texas charlatan from your rosters of "experts"; having James Baker III comment on the current economic crisis is like having Ari Fleischer comment on all the lies leading up to the Iraq war -- Oh, I forgot, CNN has him too.)

I'm also curious to see who Obama appoints to head the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC might not sound as glamorous as "State" or "Defense" or "Justice" but I think the implications of who controls that body can affect our nation's health and politics just as much as those sexier departments. We can no longer seriously call our nation a "democracy" while our public discourse is so thoroughly dominated by an oligopoly of narrow corporate financial interests. Every dire problem facing us today -- from the economic catastrophe and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the health care crisis and global warming -- are all flattened, framed, fragmented, and filtered through corporate media lenses. We cannot afford to allow this dismal status quo to continue.

Media reform must be a front-burner issue. We must revisit the disastrous 1996 Telecommunications Act, break up the monopolies in TV and radio, and reintroduce some form of the Fairness Doctrine. A current FCC commissioner, Michael Copps, would be a great FCC Chair, but maybe the media scholar Robert McChesney could be given a seat on the commission; he's from the President-Elect's home state. I dream of a day when Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, and all the other right-wing propagandists are just a few of the many voices operating within a wide, varied, and diverse spectrum of opinion on our public airwaves. (You can't blame a guy for dreaming.)

But all of this speculation might be moot. People who have lost their homes, their jobs, their pensions, and their children's futures are politically unforgiving; they can turn on Obama in an instant. Working with the Congress, Obama must do all he can to stop the home foreclosures; and he must provide cash bailouts directly to the states and municipalities. These state and local governments provide vital services to millions of people and the positive effects of direct aid will be felt immediately. He must also start up as soon as possible his infrastructure rebuilding projects.

He'll get his 100 Days. But Obama's goose will be cooked if he cannot deliver real economic relief to millions of hurting Americans -- AND FAST!

Click here to read more developments and analysis on Obama's cabinet picks

Comments

[bleu000]

what happened to Sen C Hagel? I hope that this is one huge press fake.

[Joseph A. Palermo - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks Stevebehindthechapel for the good words, and Johnie2xs I hear you loud and clear! Cautious optimism -- cautious optimism. As far as the old canard about 5,000 years of hostilities between Arabs and Jews - it's just not true. The current conflict dates back to 1948 and it is easily settled so long as Israel is ready to make concessions for once and stand down the IDF (for once). The 2002 proposal by the Arab League (that supposedly hates Israel so much) is totally reasonable: Full diplomatic recognition in exchange for the pre-1967 borders and an internationally determined status for Jerusalem -- problem solved! All the United States has to do it tell Israel this is the deal and Israel would have no choice but to do what Uncle Sam wants -- without Uncle Sam there is no Israel -- so there's a ton of leverage there -- the status quo is going to end badly for Israel in 2020 or 2030 or 2040 anyone who thinks that situation can go on indefinitely is fooling themselves -- why don't we listen to the Israeli Left once in a while? There are plenty of people of good will over there who want to live in peace and security -- it's the Right and the religious nutcases that have screwed everything up (Just like here in the good ol' US of A).

[Bitsko]

Good point, Mr. Palermo. The same canard about "age old rivalries" was used in the former Yugoslavia, as well as in Ireland, to somehow "prove" their troubles were unsolvable. If the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland can hang out together in the same pubs, as they do today, anything is possible.

[arvay]

The real challenge will be with our own politics: Obama and Hilary will need to win a full-force confrontation with AIPAC and other nutty but politically powerful factions here.

Both of them need to show willingness to make the case to the American people that AIPAC and the Likudists in Israel represent a threat to America's interests, and to the population of Israel, and stick to their guns through the inevitable storm of opposition.

If he does this in his first term, he'll be risking his reelection. These forces have shown the ability and willingness to retaliate against anyone that challenges their hammerlock on US foreign policy.

[peacegurl48]

I think it will be awesome to have smart, non-ideologues back in the White House!

[HARVIN]

Obama's amazing cabinet choices promise four more years of nightmarish business as usual in freedom's land with a double dose of hypocrisy for the true believers.All of us who worked for his election are very,very nervous and deeply troubled as Obama follows the Pelosi formula of "What war crimes?What looting of the treasury?What torture?What illegal eavesdropping?What accountability?And the coup de grace...What Constitution?

[Rudderman]

Harvin,
Take a chill pill, a tall drink, or both. You sound like so many people on both sides...already leaping for his throat before he even takes offce. Good grief, no one since Lincoln or Roosevelt has inherited a bigger confligration since . Everyone knows the internet is a double-edged sword. It's a little bit early to be sticking it in his back.

[HARVIN]

Mark my words, Rudderman, we'll see if you can give me again your cautious admonition come next August.I'm also curious.How do you self-proclaimed intelligent folk out there in the hinterland remain so naive?Generation after generation of people like you have been taking it up the yazoo and making excuses for your masters since 1776. Folks like you and Bitsko are so used to being slaves, being used like plowhorses by the elite, you've grown to like it.It's all you know.You patriotic, good old boys and girls don't have a revolutionary bone in your tired, used up bodies.By the way,Obama says to get a second job to help bail out Wall Street and GM and Ford and Citigroup and....

[Bitsko]

"All of us who worked for his election"? Somehow, I don't believe a word you're saying.

[stevebehindthechapel]

Thank you again for an excellent commentary and briefing on the new Cabinet, a concise summary again for my daily news and information. You have an excellent eye towards reporting the history, details, and progress of this nation and we all share great hope for the future.
Take care, good holidays and good spirits to you.

[johnie2xs]

Speaking of dreaming, Joey, how about this. How about Obama convincing Bush to fire Paulson now and appoint Geithner so as to facilitate quicker implementation of Obama's plans for reviving the economy. I know, I know. That may be too much to ask, but dreams are dreams.

[Michale32086]

Personally, I think that is one of the best ideas I have heard of as late..

Michale......

[johnie2xs]

Thanks Mik. The only better idea, recently, was by Gail Collins of the NYT this weekend. She suggested Bush and Cheney resigning (Cheney first, for obvious reasons), Pelosi thereby becoming the first female American President, then her defering to the President-Elect. Ain't dreaming wonderful!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/opinion/22collins.html

[peterkatona]

I count myself among those hoping for great things from both parties over the next few administrations, starting with Obama's first. But the oceans receding and post-partisan politics is nothing compared to this desire: "If Clinton has the strength and foresight to settle finally that festering wound in the heart of the Middle East she would be remembered as one of the greatest diplomats in history."
Wow. Talk about unrealistic expectations. So for 5,000 years the Arabs and Jews fight over land, with arguments based on faith and tactics like blowing up pizza parlors...but along comes President Barack Obama and his mighty Secretary of State, and there will be peace in our time in the most volatile and irrational real estate in the world? You think when those centuries-old Jew-haters say they want Israel pushed into the sea, they mean unless we can get this or that concession? Ever try negotiating with the Klan? There's no negotiation when one side's objective is genocide.
Side One: "All we want is peace for our small outnumbered country and with Madame Secretary's help we will negotiate reasonable terms so we can finally live in tranquility surrounded by millions who have considered us (and show children on TV that we are) apes and pigs - a hatred that stretches thousands of years before the 60 years Israel has existed."
Side Two: "We want you to die."
Ok, now negotiate.

[Michale32086]

Obama's appointment of Clinton to SecState (if it, in fact, comes to pass) is a HUGE disappointment to me.

This doesn't appear to be the "CHANGE" administration that we who voted for him, were promised..

Plus, you have to consider that now all of Hill and Bill's headaches will now become Obama's headaches.

I trust Obama's judgment, but I have to ask.. What is he thinking???

I am holding out an ever-glimmering, yet ever-fading hope that this is all just one huge "press fake"..

Michale.....

[LeftRight]

Really? Since when is completely changing everything up from the current neocon administration to the most recent successful liberal/moderate administration NOT change??

In addition to that, while the Secretary of State is the most important Cabinet position, it's STILL the President who sets the policy, and the PRESIDENT who can fire SecState if they don't follow his policies!!

[Michale32086]

Do you honestly think that Clinton will toe the line?? I honestly doubt it..

As far as CHANGE, Obama's CHANGE message also stated that we need to make changes from the CLINTON Administration as well.

And yet, look how many Clinton insiders are part of the Administration of "Change"??

That's not the change I believed in..

Michale.....