Hey, Ezra-

One careless slip there: Lee Hamilton is on the list.

And I really think you are overstating the importance of this list. Of course Sam Power has and will have tremendous influence on Obama's foreign policy.
But did you see the reaction where Solis Doyle was picked as VP CoS ? Do you really think Obama can afford to bring back Power so soon with the whole "Hillary disrespect" meme out there ?
She will be there once he has won. Mark my words

[vomits]

[violently vomits (often called projectile vomiting)]

No 'working group' could be better than this past-sell-date foggies with their heads up their 80's and 90's butts - if policy freshness and clarity would just happen to be the goal.

Yeah, 'must move to the center' is the meme.

[more projectile vomiting]

So Barak has moved from center right to off-center right. At least Debbie Schlussel and Daniel 'Crack' Pipes are not on the A team.

Brzezinski, huh?:

Q: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in Afghanistan, people didn't believe them. However, there was a basis of truth. You don't regret anything today?

Brzezinski: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.

Q: And neither do you regret having supported the Islamic fundamentalism, having given arms and advice to future terrorists?

B: What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?

Brzezinski is considered left wing nowadays? Talk about shifting the goalposts ...

OTOH, this list will play well in the "up is down" media. Pace, JimPortlandOR, the punditocracy will trumpet "past-sell-date foggies" as "new, fresh thinkers" (and would denounce "new fresh thinkers" as 1960s leftovers stuck in a pre-9/11 world).

Obama's now entered into "do what he has to do to win the general phase". Will liberals "lie back and think of the courts" like the GOoPers do or will liberals hold a snit and go for Nader or something along those lines?

One virtue of the list is that the members have a lot experience in government.

For example, Steinberg -- the most likely candidate for NSA -- was a Hill staff member, head of planning for the State Dept, and DNSA for Clinton.

Of course Sam Power has and will have tremendous influence on Obama's foreign policy.]

This is undoubtedly true. Not only that, I think there will be a pretty important position (Cabinet-level) for Cass Sunstein, Power's current flame and Obama's former colleague at the University of Chicago School of Law. The list may be uninspiring, but I really think you're putting far too much emphasis on it at this stage.

"No Anne Marie-Slaughter"

Your friend must love identity politics more than he does foreign policy, because Anne Marie-Slaughter aint no liberal on foreign policy, rather a neo-con supporter of unilateral action, opponent of the U.N. and generally a useless liberal hawk.

As far as this list:
It's much the same as the economic list, full of neoliberal centrists that give me little "hope" for "change." At least this one is replete with dinosaurs and clinton administration hacks. Great.

Wasn't this released as the "Senior National Security Working Group?" Everyone on it is pretty much an elected official, sub-Cabinet, or higher. As such, it looks like a political document more than a real list of who he's talking to. The folks you mention are just significantly more junior or actually not close to the campaign (like Malley/Brzezinski).

And Madeline Albright?..she of

"In 1996, she made highly controversial remarks in an interview with Lesley Stahl on CBS's 60 Minutes. When asked by Stahl with regards to effect of sanctions against Iraq: "We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?" Albright replied: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it."

Wikipedia

My Irish mother, God bless her, told me last week that Sam Power did an interview on Irish radio in the wake of Obama clinching the nomination and hinted pretty heavily that she will be an advisor to Obama in the GE and hopefully the presidency.

I think they might be holding her back a while until things cool down post-primary.

Compensating for the flaws in this list is the guiding force provided by the Zen of Pooh.

"not an incredibly exciting group of people"

just my opinion...
but right now, in the midst of a delicate healing process with clinton supporters and the republicans and mainstream pundits waiting for any misstep, i dont think obama can afford any appointments that will create controversy or valuable time deflected from the momentum of the campaign.
imagine, appointing samantha power at this moment.
we cant forget the impact of even the slightest comment, choice, commercial or sound-byte.....no potential swiftboats....
.....right now, i think obama has golden moments to introduce himself,
dispel myths, appeal to independents and allow clinton supporters to find their way back to taking an active role in the election.
many female clinton supporters in politics and journalism are working hard to this end.
any day or week lost in controversy and explanation would be a great loss...keep the path as clear as possible during this critical time.

dont light matches in dry forests....sometimes, it is better to be safe rather than sorry.

Obama will inherit a State Dept that is filled with career officers. Obama has to have advisors (Former insiders) who know the good guys from the John Bolton clones so he gets people who will promote his policy and not Bush moles.

It's weird feeling when I really hope my politicians are bsing their way into office.

Susan Rice is white? And was there some other Lee Hamilton you wanted to be included on the list?

barack obama first has to win the election before he can change anything.

unfortunately, he still has to appeal to the comfort zone of many voters.
consolidating a broad and unified consensus of voters and a campaign that is as free of distractions and controversy as possible is the only way to win and then have the power to change things, it seems to me.

Wow, I am so glad he has such firepower. There first job needs to be explaining how we can be at war with Al Queda so that if we get intellgience we can drop bombs on Osama Bin Ladens house and blow him up, but if we catch him, we have to read him his rights and give him the rights of an American citizen.

So what does Obama say to the soldier that comes across Osama running down a ridge line in the mountains?? Does he scream, stop or I'll shoot you are under arrested, or does he just blow him away??

And does Obama believe Osama should have the right to send a lawyer into our courts today and get a federal injunction against the war which violates his civil rights??

So last month we had more coalition casualites in Baracks war in Afghanistan, then we had in Bushs' war in Iraq.

Why is Obama not withdrawing the troops from Afghanistan to reduce the violence and stop Al Queda from recruiting falafel vendors??

Don't we win by withdrawing??

Was it Ezra or someone else who was justifying their support for Obama despite Obama's relatively anemic commitment to progressive domestic policies by the idea that he would be a paradigm-shifter in foreign relations?

Oh, but that's alright because now it's the general election and we have to do all we can not to upset Republicans.

And then after the election, we'll need to do everything we can not to upset Republicans in Congress.

Sigh.

Wake me when it's over.

Incidentally, kudos to bakho for perhaps the saddest justification for picking a bunch of MOR careerists -- it takes a careerist to know who the rabid bushies are?? I do hope that's sarcasm, otherwise I'm off to have a good cry.

Important absences that will be noted and lamented by the progressive community include Walt, Mearshimer, Farrakhan, Ali Larijani and David (holocaust denier) Irving.

Sweetie, you are so full of shit. You must be one of Ezra's palid, paunchy, balding, closeted love trolls. There seem to be a lot of them around here lately. Type with both hands...maybe you will make more sense.

Regards.

This looks a lot like the How Shall We Direct the American Empire in Third Millenium Committee.

Party like it's 1999!

Was he just trying to pick people OLDER then McCain?

That seems to be the main criteria.

It makes Obama look weak to name all these old, stale, insiders..showing he thinks he doesn't have what it takes..

And having Albright is such a bonus..I mean a women who justified killing 500,000 Iraqi children through genocidal sanctions based on her and Clintons long held belief that Iraq had WMD.

Ohhh, that's right, I forgot...Obamas policy was to still have those sanctions on Iraq and still killing tens of thousands of Iraqi children for basically ever....