The Cabinet Clock’s Ticking for Obama: More Republican Picks to Come?

Obama should withdraw the Rahm Emanuel position for chief of staff. Rahm was recorded on 21 conversations where Blago was recorded by the special prosecutor talking about selling the senate seat from Chicago. If Rahm is pushed under the bus it would give Obama another chance to deliver on his promise of a postpartisanship administration. So far his administration simply looks like a retread of the highly partisan Clinton administration.

Obamacrat- that must be a post from the future.
I really have never understood the purpose of having the opposite party in your cabinet. Its your prerogative to have people that support your agenda. Being bi-partisan is demonstrated by your workings with the other party on common goals, not have having a token who is either a lacky or a leaker.

Has anyone here actually read D.K. Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” or Shelby Foote’s “The Civil War”? According to them Lincoln’s cabinet was a non-stop episode of “Survivor”, complete with alliances and plots to undermine Lincoln’s authority. Sure, they were far from yes-men but on the other hand Lincoln spent an inordinate amount of time and energy settling squabbles, hiring and firing and simply trying to figure out who to trust. I don’t know why Obama would expect a different outcome by doing the same thing Lincoln did.

Maybe Obama could appoint someone who isn’t a career politician…that would be different since all he has done is appoint lifetime political gadflys to every position except Secretary of Defense.

I don’t think he needs any republican in his cabinet.
the republican have had a chance to let the whole world see what they can do when they are in complete charge.
the republicans need to go and regroup.
will they come back palin republicans
or kay bailey hutcherson republicans?
my choice is they come back a little bit of both

NO. Absolutely not. 8 years of GOP corruption from the Oval Office on down has proven that Republicans are partisan, divisive, oligarchic failures at addressing America’s crises. Many of these crises have indeed had their origins in Rovian, Gingrichian and Norquist idealogies. Kristoff and Limbaugh, Anne Coulter and Lynn Cheney, the whole gang have much hate in their hearts. It’s high time for better and more decent, true blue American statesmanship in DC politics. PLEASE Mr. Obama, keep any Republicans out of Cabinet positions or other appointments to powerful positions.

Just want to note it’s a refreshing change to have a new reporter on the case on this blog who’s interested in presenting the story, not promoting themselves!

Transportation. That’s where they put useless tokens, like Mineta the last time around. Corker, he’d be good – he already works for Nissan.
But, seriously, who’s left? Practically all of the repubs left in DC are right wing nutjobs.

Hope is all so worth the waiting.
Still so many of ya buying into it.

Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Provost Marshal (head of a unit of military police) and the local California Highway Patrol office will begin working together 12/12

it is good to be coming out from under the eight year cloud of bush,
everybody now has an opinion and everybody NOW thinks it is safe to talke again.
we got nothing under bush but heartache,
and now the reps. want a seat at the table, the progressives want a seat at the table.
they were not asking for such before.
obama is doing pretty good with his appointments, let him continue.
—————————
seems like blago has been using the gov. seat as a front. the real money for him came from shaking down people.
wanted to give jjj’ wife a job, but when they did not give him 25k, he said she is not getting the job.
his mother must be crying her eyes out.

Tapper: “It’s hard to make everyone happy”
& how much concentrated thought does it take to get to this point?

“Obama’s campaign promises were strong: he was adamant about saying he would fill his cabinet with people who would be contrarian to him when necessary– including Republican(s).”
Instead, he’s appointed a bunch of time-serving hacks and yes-persons. For “contrarian”, try Axelrod on “Morning Joe” earlier today — whining and back-tracking, refusing to answer questions.

If you break out your old Clinton Admin. place card and scratch out the year 1992 and a couple of people who assumed room temperature and you have the Obama running order. Cant you people find something MORE newsy about the Transparent Obamy like the naked dog who is being vetted before allowed to enter the family!! Maybe you can come up with the Lunch menu for Michele and how many potty breaks the girls are allowed to take at school.What a circus you clown journalists are running. Nothing of SUBSTANCE!! BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!!!

James -
“Rahm was recorded on 21 conversations where Blago was recorded by the special prosecutor talking about selling the senate seat from Chicago.”
1) Chicago doesn’t have a Senate seat…Illinois does.
2) Unless someone is leaking to you from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, how would you know what Rahm and Blago were discussing?

“Marine Corps Air and Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Provost Marshal (head of a unit of military police) and the local California Highway Patrol office will begin working together 12/12″
What nobody mentions much is that CHP is … how to say it? … a tool of the prison guards union. So no association could be more uh “appropriate”, as The CHANGEling likes to say, however unconstitutional — a concept which has become quaint, while the former “Democrats”, including BHO, collaborated in the Bush transformation of US “democracy” into t-t-terror-state tyranny.

“People are talking.”
Even Dana Milbank seems to be peeking out from under his Barky-blinders:
“A month from now, the nation will say farewell to its sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions. And it will replace him with, well, another sports-obsessed president who doesn’t like tough questions.”
$750 million bucks and two years of bait-and-switch, and all that results is a less-likeable Bush figure in a birthday suit?
Jesse Jackson, or somebody, had better get the hook.

BertieW
Today’s Chicago Sun-Times does not say that Emanuel was involved in conversations about “selling the Senate seat.”
It says just the opposite. “Emanuel’s discussions do not indicate that he was involved in deal making with the Governor.”

Maybe The CHANGEling’s appointments of yes-persons, hacks, and retreads can be explained by the fact that actual Democrats are declining to board His post-partisan pirate ship:
“Rep. Xavier Becerra, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for U.S. trade representative, pulled himself out of the running Tuesday.” (CNN)
Becerra’s reported to have turned down a formal offer.

we know that the small donor base was a myth
In fact, Obama’s base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush’s in 2004 — Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking.
So, unless they can keep on roaster those anonymous donors, which were never disclosed, they should reasses their goals. After all we just had a glimpse of how many B0bots really

“Today’s Chicago Sun-Times does not say that Emanuel was involved in conversations about “selling the Senate seat.”
It says just the opposite. “Emanuel’s discussions do not indicate that he was involved in deal making with the Governor.”
I suppose this is progress. Now you admit there were conversations.
Its a question of reading comprehension. “do not indicate that he was involved in deal making” is not that same as “reveal he was not involved in deal making”.
Here is how is goes:
Rahm: “Yo yo yo, the One would like you to appoint VJ to his well worn seat”
Harris: Yeah, and Hot Rod would like to move to HHS
Rahm: let me get back to you
…
Rahm: Greatings from the Great and powerful Obs. VJ is out. We suddenly remembered I mispoke and we need her here in Washington all along. But here is a list of 4 other names Axely and I know PEBHO will be talking to the governor about.
Harris: Rod is interested in a do nothing job, you have some of those right?
Rahm: Err, let me get back to you on that
Harris: Ok make sure you call me 19 mor e times to refuse this offer. BTW- did I mention that his wife would like to make 155K a year?

Well it is true Bush and even Nixon had more WOMEN in their administrations!
OBLANKO is so afraid of women he can hardly contain his misogyny……he and his boys reek of sexist and blatant
misogynistic behaviour.

“OBLANKO is so afraid of women he can hardly contain his misogyny……he and his boys reek of sexist and blatant
misogynistic behaviour.”
This was played out again today, when Obama mouthpiece Axelrod was ingratiating, if uncooperative, to Joe Scarborough, just plain insulting to Ms. Brzienski. Darn bad day for Axelrod.

The now famous Mr. Doodad Pro, who listed his occupation as “Loving You,” loved obama so much he contributed more than 1,500 times. There is no way to know, unless obama tells the FEC, who Doodad is and whether he is a real person. This is fraud.
And Henrietta Mladota, who lives in the city of “100 Lausanne 25,” wherever that is. Apparently it’s in the great state of “ZZ.” She was also carried away by her adoration to donate $8,200 — $3,600 over the legal limit. Perhaps she is the great Baronness Henrietta Mladota of Prague who bestowed her name on the Mladota Ensemble? Perhaps Susan and Gerald Kagan, American members of the Mladota Ensemble as well as being contributors to Barack Obama’s campaign, have something to do with the interesting pseudonym? Inquiring minds want to know.
Not to mention the $10 million transfer into the campaign that lists the lump sum as a donation from the Obama Victory Fund. And do note that the date is October 16, 2008, the day after the closing for the Pre-General Report. So this information was not released until December 4, 2008 in the Post-General Report, long after the election was over.
As von Spakovsky notes, it would seem that the decision was made to collect all of the money that came in, no matter what. Once the campaign was won, who would care if years from now the FEC eventually found a violation and imposed a civil penalty, especially when your campaign employs the best campaign lawyers.

“And Henrietta Mladota, who lives in the city of “100 Lausanne 25,” wherever that is. Apparently it’s in the great state of “ZZ.” She was also carried away by her adoration to donate $8,200 — $3,600 over the legal limit.”
FEC records show a single donation to Obama’s Presidential campaign for $2300.
She did donate thousands to the Obama Victory Fund and the DNC.
The Obama Victory Fund was a joint fundraising operation set up with the DNC.

“Well it is true Bush and even Nixon had more WOMEN in their administrations!”
Administration covers 1000′s of people.
In terms of cabinets, Nixon had 1 woman.
Bush initially had 4 women in his cabinet. 3 left and were replaced by 4 more women. So he currently has 5 women.
Obama has already selected 4 women and a 5th is likely to be chosen for Labor Sec (Granholm)
The lesson as always?

“Before going down that road, check the “bundling” that Obama received.”
Well aware of it and Obama did not have near the bundling porblem McCain did.
McCain had to return over $7M in donations.
So by all means feel free to go down this road.

For those liberals who voted for Obama in the general election and who are now unhappy with Obama, why didn’t you see this coming, why didn’t you vote for Nader instead? I’m a liberal who voted for Obama in the primaries (since Richardson and Kucinich and Edwards had already dropped out and because I didn’t trust Clinton as President), but I then permanently left the Democratic party and joined the Pacific Green Party and then voted for Ralph Nader in the general election after I noticed Obama taking “right wing” positions. I didn’t want Biden to be President because he voted for the wars and because he insisted on funding the Iraq war and in keeping the troops there for a long time to fight the war. Now he will be the Vice President and Hillary Clinton will be the Secretary State – ouch!! I sure am glad I voted for Nader! Nader only got 1.01 percent of the Oregon vote, but that was enough to make his newly created Oregon Peace Party automatically become ballot qualified for 2010.!! But at least with the centrists and Republicans in Obama’s cabinet, his administration is more likely to get his pro-environment and pro-renewable energy and pro-universal health care policies enacted and carried out (due to reaching consensus across both wings of the Democratic-Republican Party).