Obama Cabinet Chess

Benen quotes a New York piece that makes a good point:
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"Clinton may be the bad cop to Obama's good cop. Because she is trusted by Pentagon-hugging national security conservatives, she may legitimize his desire to respond to this pivot point in American history with bold strokes rather than incremental ones."

Market rallied 500 points from when Andrea Mitchell announced it at 3pm. Great pick. Geithner was the one I was hoping for, but I had already resigned myself to Summers. This is a very good sign.

Do you think it might be vaguely possible that he is uninterested in identity politics and actually deciding who he wants based on their talents and not their demographic?

Don't forget to mention Patrick Gaspard as political director. A nod to labor, and another heavy gun to tackle health care in a serious way.
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Both Richardson and Frederico Pena will be placed somewhere. Sounds like Richardson is going to Commerce, but wouldn't he be well served as ambassador to Russia or back at the UN?

I heard Bill Richardson for Commerce. I think Politico. So there he is. Commerce. Bill Richardson. In Commerce.

Did that whole transcending race/gender/ethnicity thing just go right over your head?

This is kinda fun. Like fantasy football but with higher stakes.
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"Red rover, red rover, send ? right over."

I can't help but wonder: where did the Latinos go?
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That strikes me as a darn strange reaction. All the nominees have been pretty well-regarded people.
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Or, what Paul Dirks, dennisdenuto114, and alaskanturkey (the pardoned one, evidently) said.

Why the h3ll exactly does Obama have to pick a Latino? Seriously, wasn't ending the stupidity of quota-based identity politics one of his campaign promises? Isn't the fact that Obama ISN'T trying to shoehorn every ethnic and racial group into his cabinet one of the reasons his transition is going better than Bill Clintons did back in '92?
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I notice that Swampland has four men and three women contributing to it. Do you think you were picked to blog here because you're a good reporter or because you're a woman? Y'know, to "even out" the balance.
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I don't care what Obama's cabinet's eventual ethnic makeup is as long as everyone is qualified. But, I mean, if it makes you feel better, then sure, appoint someone just because they're Latino. I'm sure the country will be better off.
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Asking where Bill Richardson and Al Gore are is legitimate because they're qualified professionals one would expect to at least be given consideration for cabinet appointments. Bill Richardson has a long list of qualifications and accomplishments. That list doesn't include the fact that he's Hispanic.

And there ain't no damn Lichtensteiners! Whassup with that?

Seriously, JN-S, hadn't you ought to do something useful, like planing for Black Friday 5 a.m. doorbusters at IdentityPolitics-R-Us?

Come on, people, give off. It's not just that Richardson is a Latino; he is OWED, for the endorsement. If Obama was willing to give Penny Pritzker a cabinet post, then he's gotta find something for Richardson, who was not only a fellow candidate but is eminently qualified for a senior position. As is Frederico Pena, an early Obama supporter.

OK, OK – "Liechtensteiners." Must have been thinking of the artist.

Moral: When snarking, get it right.

Do you think it might be vaguely possible that he is uninterested in identity politics and actually deciding who he wants based on their talents and not their demographic?
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No, it's absolutely certain that the black guy insists on racial quotas in his cabinet.
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It's hard to complain so far. Ideologically, I could be happier. But I'll settle for grownups who could answer the question: "So what do you read to keep informed about the world?"

Intrepid Time reporter Jay Newton-Small asks I can't help but wonder: where did the Latinos go?

There's another, larger group that Obama has ignored, and they aren't too happy about not getting their fair slice of the pie.

P.S. There are things Time's hacks will never tell you about BillRichardson on these videos:

youtube.com/watch?v=i0YRHXoygRM
youtube.com/watch?v=MiszkrzoOs0
youtube.com/watch?v=CifLm6z32eA
youtube.com/watch?v=mN2o208PFhg

Note especially the first: even as he was running for president of the U.S., he was shilling for a group of foreign governments.

Everybody who is going off on JNS about the Latino comment should note that a lot of major Latino supporters had been making noise about Obama picking HRC over Richardson. And many of them were making veiled threats about whether they would continue to support the Dems and Obama if some Latinos weren't named to Obama's cabinet. Its the price you pay when you are all things to all people. Every single demographic that supported Obama is going to want representation at the highest levels. The next demographic I predict to be offended will be the LGBT coalition. It might sound wrong but much has been made about how the GOP are a white male party. If Obama doesn't put some minorities in prominent positions he would be accused of white washing his Cabinet. I happen to think that qualifications should matter more than demographics but other folks will never see it that way.

Sean DeCoursey forgot his password Says: Seriously, wasn't ending the stupidity of quota-based identity politics one of his campaign promises? Isn't the fact that Obama ISN'T trying to shoehorn every ethnic and racial group into his cabinet one of the reasons his transition is going better than Bill Clintons did back in '92?

I remember that campaign promise, as well as the one not to play the race card or have surrogates constantly do it, and BHO fulfilled it: his surrogates didn't do it constantly, they took occasional five minute breaks.

Plus, this page at BHO's site never existed:

my.barackobama.com/page/content/eahome

Also, I never wrote this in response.

I'm sorry JNS but I get a little miffed when people say things like that because Latinos aren't the only ones who are responsible for getting Obama elected. He couldn't have done it would a huge number of twenty somethings - so does it track that he should fill a few cabinet posts with college students?

Having a bad day, month, election cycle kattest?

There's talk of Nydia Vasquez in Clinton's seat. She'd be great. A pistol. Gave an intro for Marcy Wheeler when she was promoting her book here.
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And, sgw, ending this kind of nonsense is part of the point. Obama is uniquely able to say that we don't do things that way anymore.
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This also would bode as a nice contrast to Clinton, who, as Sean pointed out, viewed the cabinet as a chance to make a political statement at the expense of a policy statement.
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Grownups. Jeez. Think of it. Honeymoon thinking, of course. There will be problems.

Andrea Mitchell. It takes a very special lady to get scoop after scoop in the highest stakes arena in the land and still keep that irrationally exuberant freak Alan Greenspan satisfied. Kudos.

hahahahahahahaha
[pointing]

Speaking of big names, what happened to Sam Nunn?

Sam Nunn was put into suspended animation years ago. No one noticed.

Remember last week when everyone was complaining Obama was choosing too many men and not enough women? What happened to that argument again? But, of course, Latinos are a different story...

SG - I get what you're saying but at what point do we push back. the trouble with identity politics is that if the perception isn't they are the most qualified then you set them for the media to take them down.
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JNS we'd be better off if part of your post also included this factor -- it might give some people pause and make them question their assumptions.