Obama's best/worst appointment?

[changemonger]

His best pick IMO gotta be Tom Daschle. He couldn't have found a more dedicated, a more competent figure on that particular issue. His nomination was the clear signal that health care reform will indeed be a priority on the Obama administration agenda.
His worst pick by far is Robert Gates. His nomination, confirmed the status quo on foreign policy that the Clinton pick already indicated . I posted a thread a few days ago that pretty sums up why it's such a terrible signal to keep him, even temporarily .

[Fovea]

1. Yes, so far Daschle is hands down the best news.

Because we need what he's selling.

Yeah, Gates too, Clark would have been my pick.

[monmouth]

2. I'm very partial to Rahm. Right person for the job he has to do....n/t

[avaistheone1]

41. I can't stand Emanuel and everything he represents

which is the DLC, and corporate America - our true rulers.

[ananda]

3. Gates and Jones are the absolute worst..

.. with Geithner a close second.

[elkston]

5. Bull. Nations like Iran need to know we won't be bullied, even though we are willing to talk. (n/t)

[changemonger]

9. Iran won't ever be stupid enough to "bully" us .

Bullshit talking point.

[EFerrari]

11. Iran helped us after 9/11. With an adult in the White House,

our relations with them could improve significantly.

[changemonger]

23. I don't know if it's "in our interest "...

to improve our relations with them. We do need ennemies.

[changemonger]

8. too bad they hold ...

the probably most important cabinet positions.

[cali]

14. Why Jones? What do you find objectionable about him?

As for Gates, the way I see it, we all owe him a debt of gratitude. I believe he kept bush from bombing Iran.

[polichick]

4. I'm most inspired by the upcoming energy/envir. names - Browner and Chu.

Also by many of his advisors.

[Egnever]

6. Susan Rice to the UN put a huge smile on my face!

makes me smile just thinking about it in fact.

I don't have a worst.

[BunkerHill24]

7. Best: Daschle

Worst: Hillary & Emanuel

[screembloodymurder]

10. I like his energy pick.

I don't like Tom Daschle.

[S_E_Fudd]

12. Best: Clinton...Worst; No bad ones actually...I'm a tad worried about Daschle...nt

[Lucky 13]

13. Best: Steven Chu

I'm incredibly impressed by this pick. A nobel laureate, physicist, and advisor to Gore on climate change. Science is back, baby!!

Worst, IMO (and I know I'll get flamed for this) is Clinton. I believe there were much more qualified people for that post... but we need not rehash that again.

[AnnieBW]

49. My hubby works at DoE

And he's psyched about Steven Chu.

[Lucky 13]

51. Good to hear.

I've often thought that the most frustrating job in the world would have had to been a government scientist during the past 8 years. If you have any value for intellectual honesty and scientific principals, it must be maddening.
:banghead:

[Occam Bandage]

15. Best: Chu. Worst: None.

[WI_DEM]

16. best: Chu and Daschle and worst: Holden (I want an AG without any blemishes)

but overall he has done a great job.

[Shiver]

17. A lawyer without blemishes?

Doesn't seem like a very good lawyer, whomever this mythical person is... :hide:

[WI_DEM]

18. I mean ethical questions. Yes, there are some.

[mkultra]

48. sure, do the unicorns speak in your land?

just kidding. I do think you may be asking a bit much though.

[anigbrowl]

19. Paul Volcker, not calling me.

[Aloha Spirit]

21. oh no! Which appointment were you in contention for?

blogosphere general?

[anigbrowl]

22. Court Jester.

[Aloha Spirit]

20. Most unappreciated good pick: Peter Orszag. Least criticized bad pick: Summers.

Just an opinion.

Orszag's blog up until nov 25th
cboblog.cbo.gov

Reason for not appreciating Summers as much as the rest of the country... I guess it has something to do with living in Boston.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

25. I don't know much about Orszag or his record

However I just realized that Al Franken cited him in his last book, "The Truth (with jokes)", about how he reportedly explained to Al how the Bush Social Security privatization plan would cause Social Security to start losing money as soon as the plan was enacted, thus not doing anything to solve the "solvency" issue that Bush initially claimed to care about as a reason for "fixing" Social Security. I don't know how Orszag is on other issues but he seemed honest enough at the time to tell the truth about the likely negative effect of Bush's (disastrous) attempt to "reform" Social Security.
:shrug:

[Aloha Spirit]

37. Ooh, interesting. I cannot believe Frankster might pull off a win...

But wrt Orszag... his composure is that of a smart, balanced, clever gen x'er. I was most impressed with him during his testimony on the stimulus package back at the beginning of 2008. You had Paulson and Bernanke coming up and trying to persuade the Senate finance committee to adopt this or that proposal, with the committee members basically drooling over themselves. But when Orszag was being questioned, committee members barely paid attention, kept asking him the same question over and over again (more evidence of their not paying attention) and the Senators kept asking him, "what should we do." And Orszag, slightly amused at how inattentive the committee members were, kept repeating himself: (roughly) "Here are these tables and charts I prepared, showing you the likely effectiveness and reach of each possible proposal. It's not my job to tell you what to do, but these charts illustrate what the CBO determines would be the most likely effective policies." And then the next Senator would ask him, "So, what should we do?".

I was really sick during the whole stimulus packagee process in Congress, and got to watch it all on C-SPAN.
Orszag just came off as incredibly normal, unprejudiced, clever, and energetic.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

43. I hope Al pulls it out too!

I love his books and his comedic (yet intelligent) analysis contained therein. I particularly love all of his jabs at Limbaugh.

:applause:

[Aloha Spirit]

44. It would def. take C-SPAN in a new direction ;-)

[mkultra]

24. gates may be a wise choice until the troops are pulled

i would then expect him to be be replaced.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

26. There has been some speculation that he is basically a "placeholder"

for Wes Clark to assume the position when he is eligible for it (2010). I hope that rumor turns out to be true. He would be an excellent SOD.

I don't have a huge "beef" with Gates, especially considering reports that he appeared to have served as an effective "firewall" to Bush/Cheney's ambitions in regards to attacking Iran. As long as he supports Obama's goals, then he is fine by me.

[mkultra]

29. yeah, Wes Clark is a great choice.

[changemonger]

27. The problem is, HE won't ever pull the troops

n.t

[mkultra]

28. well, if he doesnt, im sure he will get pulled more quickly

he answers to the president and will do his bidding or get fired.

[changemonger]

35. it's not that simple!

The president consults with his aides before taking such a crucial decision, particularly with the SOD. The SOD of course has the power to advance his own agenda.

[Shiver]

36. So you think Obama is so weak-willed he'd give in...

...to an opinion different than his own?

Remember, the Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the president. If Gates won't play, and tries to advance his own agenda, he can and probably will get canned.

[changemonger]

38. Obama always said concerning Iraq ...

he will consult with his team and the generals on the ground before taking any step toward a pull out. If 2/3 of those generals and his own SOD are telling him pulling out will be a terrible mistake, he might have second thoughts.
They serve at the pleasure of the president, which means they have to execute the president's decisions, but it doesn't mean they don't have a say in the decision-making process.

[mkultra]

46. i doubt gates is still present for has great advice

its far more likely that hes kept to protect lives. transitioning that position will just take longer.

[SwampG8r]

30. best pick ......hillary clinton

worst pick......hillary clinton

[Lilith Velkor]

40. LOL

[mkultra]

47. he should have chosen her for POTUS

;)

[AtomicKitten]

31. Best: Shinseki and Chu. Worst: His entire foreign policy team with the exception of Susan Rice.

[Vattel]

32. Rice/Richardson

[Phoonzang]

33. Chu/Holder nt

[oviedodem]

34. Worst: Rahm

[ZombieHorde]

39. I am not saying that he is the worst pick, but I am still scratching my head over Biden.

I don't get.

[Aloha Spirit]

42. here's the Biden summary on change.gov.... I think this outlines his qualities pretty well

http://change.gov/learn/vicepresidentelect/

Conclusion: "Vice President-Elect Biden has a proven record of bringing people together to get things done. From global warming to combating violence against women to confronting the challenges of the dangerous world in which we live, Joe Biden has fought every day over the course of his life in public service to improve the lives of middle class families."

[Proud Liberal Dem]

45. I can't say I have any MAJOR issues with any of his appointments so far

mostly because I don't really know much of anything about a lot of them other than what I've read here and based exclusively on what I've read here (and elsewhere) I have some slight concerns about one or two of them but I want to see how they actually perform in their respective posts before making any judgements about how good (or bad) of a pick they were or pre-emptively freaking out about what their nomination "signals" in terms of Obama's ability and/or willingness to follow through with the agenda that he campaigned on.
I guess that the nomination that I'm most excited about is Hillary for SOS mostly because I'm glad to see her serving in such an important (and highly visible) post. I'll admit to having hoped, however, that she would've been selected as VP because of how close the primary was and in the interest of party unity although, thankfully, everything worked out in the end.
*I find it very interesting that Obama has brought nearly the entire Democratic presidential primary field into his administration (i.e. Biden, Clinton, Richardson). I think having a lot of heavyweights serving in the Obama administration will be great for this country in terms of getting things done.

What I think is perhaps the most important thing for everybody to remember about all of these nominees is that they are NOT McCain's nominees!!!!!

[crimsonblue]

50. best: Stephen Chu - SecEnergy

Worst: Hillary Clinton - SecState

[LWolf]

52. Gates. Jones. Summers.

There are others, but those are at the top of the mountain of worst appointments.

Best? Rice. Barnes.