So. Obama's Chief of Staff -- Change?

That choice doesn't thrill me at all. :(

the republicans can't be happy about this choice because he's clearly partisan.

the "obama is change" believers are probably wondering about obama's definition of change.

the anti-war folks can't be happy about this choice either.


change was a great slogan but he hasn't shown any evidence of that during his campaign (ie biden, surrounding himself with all those former clinton people and washing insiders) nor now with this pick. i hope he eventually reaches across the aisle with other cabinet positions maybe picking some prominent respectable republicans.

the only happy groups - the jews and the partisan dems. most jews thought obama wouldn't support Israel as ardently as bush did. so, this pick certainly made a few jews smile.

but its early. again, we elected him based on hope and really nothing else. i believe he truly wants to be a good president, so we'll see how this plays out.

From what I've heard in the media, this guy is the pit bull, not palin. He has been termed as 'someone who gets things done'. I'll let Obama worry about his cabinet - that's what I voted him in for.

tybird wrote:

Change does not equal a bunch of retreads from the Clinton years or the Kerry campaign. :(

Amy Goodman...To talk more about the state of the economy and the economic policies of Barack Obama, we’re joined by two guests. Robert Kuttner is the author of the new book Obama’s Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency.

Bob Kuttner, let’s begin with you. You begin your book, Obama’s Challenge, by saying that Obama has the potential to be a transformative progressive president. “By that,” you write, “I mean a president who profoundly alters American politics and the role of government in American life.” Can you talk about how he can fulfill this potential?


ROBERT KUTTNER: You know, Amy, a crisis is also an opportunity, and the crash on Wall Street was also the crash of right-wing ideology, the ideology that claimed that markets could do nothing bad and governments could do nothing good. We’re going to have reality making the most compelling case for activist government since the New Deal. The question is whether Obama seizes the moment. He will either be Roosevelt, or he will be Hoover. There’s no middle ground.


We need the most expansive use of government. We need Obama’s ability to teach, to be wielded in service of a massive recovery program that I think has four parts. First of all, do the financial rescue right, not just to throw money at Wall Street, but to get the credit system functioning again. Second, put a floor under housing prices, so that the collapse doesn’t continue. Third, re-regulate banks. And fourth, spend a lot of public money to rebuild infrastructure, do green energy, turn bad jobs into good jobs, put money back into people’s pockets.


The concern I have is the names you hear floated about are Clintonistas. Their economic centrists. And my bet is that Obama is smart enough that he does not want to fail and that events will force him to be sufficiently bold, but he has very little time to get this right.


AMY GOODMAN: Alright, let’s talk, Robert Kuttner, about some of the names being bandied about, for example, to be Treasury Secretary. Larry Summers, former president of Harvard, former Treasury Secretary under President Clinton, what does he represent?


ROBERT KUTTNER: Well, he—I mean, I’m speaking candidly here. He would be my last choice. He is a protege of Bob Rubin. When he was at Treasury, he was part of the group that promoted greater deregulation, the same deregulation that brought this collapse. He’s not famous for being a respectful listener. He had a disastrous experience as president of Harvard. And in the conversations within the Obama camp and between the Obama camp and the Democratic leadership, Summers has been a force for the idea of not spending too much money on a stimulus, not spending too much money on a permanent recovery program, fiscal caution, not putting too much pressure on the banks to resume lending. It would be both the wrong signal and the wrong policy.


The other name you hear, Tim Geithner, who’s the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, he would be somewhat better. In the negotiations about rescues for Wall Street banks, he has been a somewhat more forceful advocate of stronger regulation.


The best one—I hope she’s still under consideration—would be Sheila Bair, head of the FDIC. She’s been the toughest regulator of the batch. She happens to be, nominally at least, a Republican, as well as a woman. That would be a very classy appointment, but I fear it may not happen.

Can Grassroots Movement that Propelled Obama to Victory Chart a Better Economy?


Democracy Now this morning: Great interview on Obama's economic plan and choices give it a listen or a look and see.

Peace

well, I know Sean hannity absolutely hates the Rahm pick. That tells me it is a great pick

Pearls&Stones wrote:

After selecting Joe Biden as his running mate, I have no doubt about Obama's judgment and ability to surround himself with the best people.

sarcasm?

I don't think this means anything.

dribble

jdr3777 wrote:

This sounds more like sour grapes to me.

Here we have a guy nobody really knows much of anything about, and he comes out of nowhere talking hard knocks to Iran, Pakistan, Syria, and Russia, and anyone else that defies US policy, and claims undying blind patriot love and military support to an apartheid like state of Israel, and now he puts a hard nose zionist in such a high ranking position, and it's sour grapes?


Riiiight....sour grapes. Sure.

aNiMaL wrote:

My god folks, lets let the man finish putting his cabinet together and take the oath of the office before we start belly aching.

He could put together the most diverse and bipartisan cabinet since Clinton. Give him a chance.

I don't beleive that Obama is evil and I do beleive that he has the best interest of this country at heart. let him prove us right or wrong - but let him do it.

It's incredibly naive to think he's going to walk into the MIC and tell everyone to bow down and take it Obama style. In fact everything he says so far with regards to FP is pro MIC anyways.

This is the first tangible evidence of it, and it's right that he's called out on it for what it is.

Let's play count the dual citizens in office shall we?

aNiMaL wrote:

My god folks, lets let the man finish putting his cabinet together and take the oath of the office before we start belly aching.

He could put together the most diverse and bipartisan cabinet since Clinton. Give him a chance.

I don't beleive that Obama is evil and I do beleive that he has the best interest of this country at heart. let him prove us right or wrong - but let him do it.

Bipartisan? as in dems and republicans? Because you need to understand that it does not matter if he has both in his cabinet/admin. Not if they hold such similar/same views on a country like Israel.

Also whats with all these clinton guys he's getting? what 'change' is that?