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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Obama rebukes Bush years with Clinton (Spin Barf Alert) What message should we take away from President-elect Barack Obama's choices for his national-security team? One is that his presidency will be far different than the past eight years. By his choices, he's rebuking the presidential management style of President Bush who didn't really enjoy the to and fro of heated Washington policy disagreements. Of course, Bush's approach was pretty much a rebuke of his predecessor Bill Clinton's college-seminar style of policy debate which was seen as undisciplined by the Bush people. Today, Obama sent the message that he can handle disagreement and in fact welcomes it, so long as everyone knows at the end of the day, he's the guy who's running the place, who ultimately sets the direction. At his press conference today, he said: ... I assembled this team because I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made. One of the dangers in a White House, based on my reading of history, is that you get wrapped up in groupthink and everybody agrees with everything and there's no discussion and there are no dissenting views. So I'm going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House. But understand, I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made. That, of course, is in contrast to what is known of how disagreement and dissent were treated within the Bush White House where those who disagreed with the president's and Vice President Cheney's preferred views were often sent packing. Think Lawrence Lindsey, who headed the Bush White House's National Economic Council until he estimated prior to the Iraq War that it would cost $200 billion. Think Secretary of State Colin Powell who clashed with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over how the war was being managed. Since Rumsfeld's view was closer to Bush and Cheney's, Powell was cashiered. Obama's was implying what so many Americans believe, that it was such behavior on the part of the Bush White House, this inability to listen to dissenting voices and even learn from them, that led to the invasion of Iraq and other serious policy mistakes in foreign and domestic affairs. By choosing people like Clinton who forcefully disagreed with him during the campaign on negotiating with U.S. adversaries, Obama sends the message that he can take having his assumptions questioned by those who report to him, that he doesn't view being challenged as a sign of weakness. Secondlly, it's no secret that there was little love lost between Obama and Clinton, or their staffs, during the primary season. The tension between the candidates was at times almost palpable. In choosing Clinton, Obama shows that he doesn't hold a grudge, that he's focused on something bigger than his own feelings. Selecting Clinton reinforces Obama's campaign message that he will be the sort of president who can take a markedly different approach with U.S. adversaries than Bush. If he can do it with the Clintons (you get two for the price of one, remember) who as it was reported during the campaign, really worked his nerves at times, then it makes it more credible that he is at least capable of trying to create some bridges to the Iran and Venezuela. Then there is the continued message of pragmatism underscored by his decision to keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates and to make Gen. James Jones his National Security Adviser. Obama wants to make sure his administration represents a well-defined break with the current one which has too often been driven by ideology to its and the nation's detriment. Both Gates and Jones are non-ideological, clear-eyed leaders with reputations for intellectual honesty. That Gates is a Bush appointee and Jones appeared with Sen. John McCain at a presidential campaign appearance is all the better in terms of sending the kind of signal Obama wants to send. Of course, with Jones it probably didn't hurt his chances with Obama, the basketball-playing president-elect, that Jones is 6'4" and played forward for the Georgetown University Hoyas back in the 1960s. Poster Comment: LOL. catch the last two paragraphs.
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#1. To: Christine (#0)
"One is that his presidency will be far different than the past eight years." Haaaaahahahaha! I'm sure it will be. Far worse, if that's possible (which it is).
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