More Obama Choices: Kirk for Trade and Mills for SBA
EmailABC NEWS’ SUNLEN MILLER REPORTS:
President-elect Obama will choose former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk for U.S. trade representative, a senior Democrat close to the transition team confirms.
Kirk was the first African American mayor in Dallas, giving up his post in 2002 to run an unsuccessful campaign for the Senate seat, eventually won by John Cornyn.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos reports that Obama will likely pick venture capitalist Karen Gordon Mills to head the Small Business Administration.
Mills is president of the MMP Group, a private equity investor and advising firm, and also chair of the Governor’s Council on Competitiveness.
Both these announcements will come at a 2:15 pm ET press conference in Chicago tomorrow, the fifth in five days Obama has had as he works hard to fill out vacant positions in his administration before leaving for vacation Saturday.
He is also expected to announce Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary Friday.
- Sunlen Miller
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Despite several good, or at least mostly harmless choices for his cabinet, P.E. Obama seems intent of settling his political debts on the back of American workers. Ron Kirk was a miserable choice for Mayor of Dallas, and he’s an even worse choice for trade representative. Choosing Solis for Secretary of Labor is selling out American workers as payback for votes.
This is Change? Could have fooled me!
Posted by: Ed Weirdness | December 18, 2008, 4:19 pm 4:19 pm
Ron Kirk was a great mayor and did a lot for Dallas. he did a lot better than tha Laura Miller who drove the dallas Cowboys stadium to Arlington.
Great Pick President-Elect Obama!!!
Posted by: mel99 | December 18, 2008, 4:52 pm 4:52 pm
Ed Weirdness, I second your comment about Ron Kirk. Never in my life have I seen such blatant pandering on the part of a politician; he has no shame at all.
He’s in it strictly for what he can shovel into his own pockets and I suspect he views the job he’s going to be given as a prime source for his own selfish interests.
PEBO’s people didn’t vet him thoroughly enough, IMHO. That may come back to bite him down the road.
Posted by: Majus | December 18, 2008, 7:35 pm 7:35 pm
“Choosing Solis for Secretary of Labor is selling out American workers as payback for votes.”
Solis is very popular with the unions.
Posted by: Ryan C | December 18, 2008, 8:26 pm 8:26 pm
The choice of Ron Kirk is excellent. He was a great Mayor of Dallas and a courageous U.S. Senate candidate who almost beat the slime campaign run against him by the Bush hooligans, Karl Rove and Karen Hughes.
Kirk is an effective and competent manager with a demonstrated ability to resolve contentious issues creatively and with such a respectful manner that adversarial parties often find common ground.
He also happens to be one of the most decent human beings in politics today and is blessed with a tremendous sense of humor.
Posted by: Jeffersonian1 | December 18, 2008, 9:28 pm 9:28 pm
no punch
Posted by: ohno | December 18, 2008, 9:42 pm 9:42 pm
With the advent of socialites and comedians participating in government how soon before Obama names Sean Penn UN Ambassador or Kanye West as Secretary of the Treasury?
Who will appoint Brangelina to share a seart somewhere?
Democrats are making a joke of the government. The end is nead when we see Carline Kennedy Used-to-be-Schlossberg and Stuart Smalley as US Senators.
Posted by: drjohn | December 19, 2008, 10:20 am 10:20 am
Solis is horrible. I hope this doesnt presage a return to Smoot Hawley, because thats the way her rhetoric goes.
Today’s press conference will be the last time for someone to actually asks a question on Blago-gate since Obama is going to leave the country for some vacation island.
I noticed in the transcript yesterday all the press core heeded Obama’s warning and no one dared to ask him a question about Blago and his staff and all the conversations being reported.
Nice that he is able to keep the press core on message.
Posted by: BertieW | December 19, 2008, 10:43 am 10:43 am
Dearest drjohn,
where have you been? George W. Bush has already made the American Govt. a joke. Thanks to Bush, people all over the world, our allies included, dispise and laugh at us in the same breath.
thanks to bush, and the last eight years, there is hardly any instit. or any part of govt. that is not right now under a cloud of corruption, or about to go under because of lack of over site,non caring,incompetence,or just plain old crookery and greed.
and as far as the press goes, remember the press conference bush had, and all of the white house press corp. knew who would be called on and who would not. and how it was ALL staged, the question and the answers, everything, it was such a sad day. no one could speak out because you would be called unpatriotic.
so do not write today that obama is supressing or controlling the press, or making a joke out of this govt.
no way can obama claim that
because Bush already made a joke out of this country.
Posted by: ohno | December 19, 2008, 11:36 am 11:36 am
drjohn
and all of the people you mentioned, I think after bush, if they were appointed to some position, they would try to and do a good job. even though they are not qualified,
from the mess bush and co. have made.
it seems the people bush appointed to those positions were not qualified either.
Brad-and angie have been very good ambassordors for this country.
all of the people you mentioned are well known-and do seem to care more about this country than the people bush appointed, who were unknown and seemed not to care.
and anyway, bush may as well have appointed someone like these people, for all of the good the people he did appoint helped.
At least obama is not appointing all unknown, (we don’t know what they have been doing) but they are rich cronies of bush, and he gave them all jobs,
seems only qualifications they had to have are: if bush was friends enough to give them little pet nicknames,
brownie, rummie,dickey,etc. sec. rice once referred to bush as her “husband”
so who knows, and according to bush and co. “So what?”
Posted by: ohno | December 19, 2008, 11:44 am 11:44 am
Ron Kirk is an excellent choice for trade. most posters, almost wrote “posers”, who trash him know nothing about Dallas. he was an outsatanding, popular mayor of a large, dynamic city. he saw Dallas grow economically and prosper. he navigated Dallas politics deftly and helped Parkland Hospital continue running. he is a genuinely sincere, honest man, and i am very happy he was chosen. i can’t imagine a candidate more talented than Ron Kirk. he will do Dallas proud, no doubt about it.
Posted by: Paul Wall | December 19, 2008, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
“Solis is horrible. I hope this doesnt presage a return to Smoot Hawley, because thats the way her rhetoric goes.”
A Labor secretary who actually care about workers.
Whodathunk it after Elaine Chao phoned it in for 8 years.
Posted by: Ryan C | December 19, 2008, 5:28 pm 5:28 pm
“With the advent of socialites and comedians participating in government how soon before Obama names Sean Penn UN Ambassador or Kanye West as Secretary of the Treasury?”
Awww someone is cranky that Al Franken beat Norm Coleman.
Well at least the Republicans won;t have to suffer the indignity or two Senators being convicted while in office.
Posted by: Ryan C | December 19, 2008, 5:29 pm 5:29 pm