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LIGHTNING ROUND: THE NOT-SO SHADOW GOVERNMENT.
- President-elect Barack Obama rolled out his national security team today, confirming Hillary Clinton at State, Bob Gates at Defense, and Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security. Clinton will remain in the Senate until confirmed to her cabinet position next year, Ben Smith reports. I would concur with Ezra, First Read, et al, that James L. Jones as National Security Adviser is by far the most interesting pick, primarily because we know so little about him, other than he comes from the Scowcroft crowd of Bush 41 realists. 0.31 seconds of Google research yielded this Charlie Rose interview with Jones from 2007, but surely the man's penned something for Foreign Affairs or Foreign Policy (nope) that might illuminate us to his views?
- In other transition news, John Podesta tells Bloomberg that "virtually the whole Cabinet" of the incoming Obama administration should be announced before Christmas, Domenico Montanaro explores the question of whether a "team of rivals" form of management really works all that well, Laura McGann reports that "Obama has also been assembling a tight progressive cadre to serve with him in the White House" in addition to the Clinton-era centrists, and The Washington Post looks at the big holes being put in the Democratic majority by Obama appointments.
- George W. Bush is working overtime to salvage his legacy, sorrowfully telling Charlie Gibson that "the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq." This comes on the heels of revelations that Bush ignored forecasts from last year that predicted the current recession. Meanwhile, the 43rd president is scrubbing the Iraq War allies list on the White House's web site, making sure the EPA and Interior departments are a mess for the incoming Obama administration, and laying traps at Labor.
- I'm pleased that The Washington Post is starting to look at Bobby Jindal as the "Republicans' version of Obama," an observation I made in May, but it's worth noting that the Obama "change" campaign, which focused on the systemic failure of Republican government and conservative ideology, was quite different from the change Jindal represents, which is inwardly focused on reforming conservative governance itself.
- The reformation of conservatism is, of course, a hot topic these days, but outside the rightroots, the solution is inevitably to get back to core conservative principles -- the latest example is this Politico piece by South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford. Meanwhile, Neal Gabler writes in The Los Angeles Times that the true progenitor of the conservative electoral success wasn't Barry Goldwater but rather Joseph McCarthy: "The basic problem with the Goldwater tale is that it focuses on ideology and movement building, which few voters have ever really cared about, while the McCarthy tale focuses on electoral strategy, which is where Republicans have excelled."
- The prospect of a a Chris Matthews run for the Senate is clouded by the fact that nobody knows nothing at this early stage of the game (He's in! He's out!), but I will admit that the potential of seeing candidate Matthews on the receiving end of the sort of bad journalism his career represents will be endlessly amusing.
- I suspect Saxby Chambliss will prevail in tomorrow's runoff election in Georgia, and Al Franken will not overcome Norm Coleman in Minnesota, but we'll have our answers one way or another by mid-week it seems.
--Mori Dinauer
COMMENTS (5)
"the Obama "change" campaign, which focused on the systemic failure of Republican government and conservative ideology..."
Your either joking or high.
After September 15, Obama started to talk about the failure of the Republican policies but during the primary he praised Reagan, sympathized with conservatives and kept change and hope as vague as possible. It may have had something to do with him needing Republican and indy votes to win.
Posted by: can I get some of that | December 1, 2008 9:18 PM
really good post. i agree your opinon.
Posted by: john - laptop | December 1, 2008 9:18 PM
WE HAVE MORE TO DO:
Democrat Jim Martin is in a runoff against Bush Republican Saxby Chambliss for the Senate seat from Georgia. Bush's Saxby Chambliss voted against spending a few measly dollars to provide health care coverage for Georgia, and Americas needy children. But he supported wasting hundreds of billions of your dollars, and the life BLOOD of Americas finest on an unnecessary war in Iraq.
At a time when 47 million of you have no health insurance coverage, and over 100 million of you with insurance are just one major illness away from complete financial destruction. Bush and Saxby Chambliss voted to make the heart break of bankruptcy relief even harder for all of you to use.
You see, Bush and Saxby Chambliss, and his family don't have to worry about their health care coverage. They have the finest health care coverage your tax money can buy for them. Courtesy of you. The American Tax payer. In fact, no one but the super rich can afford the health care coverage you the tax payer provide for Saxby Chambliss, and his family for FREE! with your tax dollars.
He supposedly works for you. But he doesn't think you and your family should have access to the type of taxpayer supported FREE health care that you provide for him, and his loved ones for FREE!. Doesn't that just make you BURRING MAD!
Vote for JIM MARTIN for US senator from Georgia. Vote for JIM Martin who will be on your side. Vote for JIM MARTIN who will work with President Obama and a majority congress for you. Vote for JIM MARTIN most of all for your-self, your family's, friends, and loved ones. Vote for JIM MARTIN for a better America, and a better World.
Don't let Saxby Chambliss make a chump out of you by tricking you into voting against your own best interest. Saxby chambliss is NOT! on your side. He's not one of you. He is on George Bush's side. And we all know what a catastrophe the Bush Chambliss administration has been the past 8 years.
Contact all your family and friends and do every thing you can to see to it that JIM MARTIN and GEORGIANS! take that senate seat back for Georgia, and America. No matter where you live in America. This is important to you. President Obama will need all the help, and power you can give him to try and fix this catastrophic mess that the Corrupt Bush Chambliss administration has created.
As I said before you will have to vote in overwhelming numbers to overcome the Bush Chambliss "Let Them Eat Cake" vote fraud machine. Vote early if you can. Then help everyone you can get to the polls and vote for JIM MARTIN. You and your loved ones don't have to be Saxby Chambliss's victims anymore.
I know you will get it done. Just like you did for President Obama.
God bless all of you
jacksmith - WORKING CLASS... :-)
Posted by: jacksmith | December 1, 2008 9:24 PM
jacksmith: I'm sure all 20 people who read this page will hear your call and reply. For a greater impact, go over the Ezra side of things; he probably has 40 or 50 visitors per post.
In other news, here's my take on Napolitano, which is similar to that here:
cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=40008
On the other hand, if you're a leader of the Democratic Party and/or the MexicanGovernment, she's great!
Posted by: 24AheadDotCom | December 1, 2008 11:21 PM
I think it's time to take the necessary stsps to remove the "john-laptop"'s auto-generation machine from plugging the "i agree your opinion" quasi-sentences. Comment spam.
Posted by: Justin | December 2, 2008 12:15 PM