Well it's been a while since I sat down on wrote anything in this blog. In that time, the United States has elected a new president. My initial reaction on the night of November 4: Whew! Thank god there will be no Sarah Palin in a position of significant power (seeing Russia from your back yard does not give you experience). Second reaction: Excitement mixed with apprehension. Apprehension about where exactly Obama will take us from here. Not in the sense of I'm worried about his allegiances or any such thing, but rather that his message of change will be contaminated by advisers who will bring "more of the same" (read: Clinton-era officials in top administration positions). Of course, it is prudent for any politician to integrate some of the officials from the past administration of the same party, when possible; but that does not mean all, nor does it mean they should have been top advisers nor should they necessarily hold position of eminence in the new administration. That said, I want to speculate a bit on Obama's cabinet, or at least the facets of which are important to me, namely those position related to foreign policy and a few tangential positions that have had some interesting names thrown around:
1) Perhaps the second most important position in the Obama cabinet will be that of Secretary of Defense (after Sec. of Treasury, of course). Everything that I'm hearing suggests that Secretary Gates will be offered an extension of his posting here. That I can definitely live with. Secretary Gates is a realist in the model of President George H.W. Bush. Realists understand real world exigencies, geopolitics and, most importantly, the need for compromise and an ability to change course when necessitated. Gates also, prior to his appointment by W., spoke out, along with Admiral Fallon, against U.S. aggression towards Iran. Of course, under the neoconservative bullshit, Gates had to tone down his outspokeness on this matter (after all, those Zionist bastards, such as Bill Kristol, David Frum, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, wouldn't want the United States to play nice with Iran). Gates I can live with.
2) Secretary of State- Two names I've heard the most in the past few days are Senator John Kerry and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under Clinton, Richard Holbrooke (as well, possibly Bill Richardson, but he seems to fallen out of contention). John Kerry definitely possesses the knowledge of foreign affairs that this position requires, but I maintain that there is still something unsettling about Sen. Kerry. As such, bad choice. Richard Holbrooke...I could live with. Holbrooke was one of the primary engineers of the Dayton Accords, as such he possesses the negotiation and compromise skills that will be required in working with Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. But he was a Clinton adviser and...well...clinton's foreign policy was just about as shoddy as is W.'s. Holbrooke wasn't the primary engineer of Clinton's foreign policy as a whole, thus he's an acceptable appointment. Who I would really like to see, however, is Chuck Hagel, the soon to be former Senator from Nebraska. It seems, however, that the "one republican in the cabinet" rule precludes him from this position. Plus he'd piss off the damn zionists with his conciliatory attitude towards Iran.
3) National Security Adviser- This, I believe, is an oft-overlooked position that is of vital importance. Whereas, the two aforementioned posts require Senate approval, this one does not. As such, the President is here better able to appoint someone who would break from traditional foreign policy bullshit. The names I'm hearing here do not bode well, however. Dennis Ross and Jeff Steinberg, two Clinton-era officials and Zionist supporters, have been batted around the most. Essentially, what I want most and what I feel the United States needs most right now, is a break from the 60 year policy of unquestioning support for Israel. Maybe, Obama should appoint Rashid Khalidi here just to piss off Prime Minister Livni or Netanyahu, whomever assumes office in the upcoming Israeli elections. All joking aside though, I'm not exactly sure who I would like to see appointed here, just not zionists.
Well, that's all the input I care to offer right now.
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Apprehension. A good word describing what many of us who voted for 'the other guy' (What? 46 out of every 100 Americans? That’s a lot of angst) have caught in our throats. But there is hope there along with the worry? Tell me it will all be OK, Mystic! ;-)
Yes, Obama needs good advisors. I'll put that in my prayers.
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