Originally Posted By WorldDisney <<But the thing is, they all bring the friends/people/cronies they trust with them to Washington. If he appoints the Chicago Superintendent of Police to be Defense Secretary, then I'll get worried.>> Yeah, I think that what most of us are getting at. Its not that vbdad is wrong in his assessment of Chicago politics (like I would know eitherway lol), it's that the people he's questioning as some kind of favor system are all people Obama know and worked on his campaign at some point. That's been common with every Prsident in my lifetime at least, dont see the issue. Again, he doesnt have to LIKE any of these people he's bringing, but they are all people who helped form and run one of the best Presidential campaigns in modern history. You would be an idiot not to bring these people lol. I mean, who is not bringing Axelrod?? But I agree, if he was appointing people out of nowhere with only scant connections and experience, like a friend's spouse to some position, I would be getting worried, but dont see Obama as doing that....or anywone who wants to stay in office longer than one term . Right now, it all seems to be normal procedure. The guy is from Chicago, these are people he knows and trusts. And he is supposedly looking for 800 people overall, they cant ALL be from Chicago lol. And personnally I'm really liking this Jarret woman anyway. I think she's going to make it interesting .
Originally Posted By ecdc Today Obama announced that Gregory Craig would be White House Council. Craig was Bill Clinton's lawyer in the Lewinski scandal. Bill Clinton's life was used as the basis for the film Primary Colors. Primary Colors starred Emma Thompson. Emma Thompson was in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban had Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman was in JFK. JFK had Kevin Bacon! Kevin Bacon was in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. In Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Steve Martin was trying to get home for Thanksgiving. Where was his home? CHICAGO! The sheer hubris of Obama!
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Wait a minute, was Kevin Bacon really in Planes, Trains and Automobiles? I never noticed. What part did he play?
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093748/" target="_blank">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093748/</a> Kevin Bacon ... Taxi Racer
Originally Posted By WorldDisney Niiiiiice!! We should get Kevin Bacon in Obama's cabn--wait a sec, that punk not from Chicago, your application has been revoked Philly trash!!
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Does that make it worse than say Reagan's California Kitchen Cabinet or Clinton's Arkansas Mafia? To me, this all seems like business as usual.> Exactly. Or Carter's Georgia boys or Bush's Texas gang. They all bring people they know and are familiar with and who are (shock!) political allies. They all do it, and there's nothing wrong with it. UNLESS. The people in question don't deserve the positions, or are otherwise corrupt and/or incompetent. That happens too. Sometimes presidents hire too many old friends and, to put it charitably, appoint some of them to jobs that prove to be over their heads. Sometimes it's worse than that. For some reason Bert Lance was the first guy to pop into my head (God, I'm old). But many of them end up doing fine jobs; that they are from the new president's home state is neither surprising nor a problem in itself. What would matter is if vbdad could show us that Jarrett, in this case, specifically is corrupt or incompetent, or wouldn't be suited for the job she is to have. That would matter. That she's a long-time friend and political ally of Obama from Illinois... that's just par for the course.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Now that half of Obama's cabinet has been squared away I think it's safe to say that the President Elect can't be accused of filling his administration with old political friends from Illinois: <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_diversity" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...iversity</a> >>An analysis by New York University's Wagner School of Public Service and The Washington Post found that of the 28 White House staffers Obama has appointed so far, 43 percent are women and 29 percent are a racial minority. The analysis examined other areas of diversity — a third have a tie to Obama's hometown of Chicago, half worked on his campaign and two-thirds have advanced degrees.<< >>Todd Harris, a Republican operative, gave Obama credit for how he is handling appointments. "He really seems to be reaching out to people that he doesn't need to reach out to politically," said Harris, who worked for Sen. John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. "He is not filling his administration with a bunch of Illinois cronies and he really is getting people with a diverse set of views. As an American, that's a breath of fresh air." <<
