Obama dismisses 90 Bush Pentagon appointees

[babylonsister]

Obama dismisses Bush Pentagon appointees
By Sam Youngman
Posted: 12/30/08 07:37 PM


Despite keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the Pentagon, President-elect Obama’s transition team informed 90 Bush appointees their services will not be needed after Inauguration Day.

Scott Gration, a senior official on Obama’s transition team, called and emailed several of President Bush’s Pentagon appointees about 10 days ago to inform them they were being dismissed.

Those calls and emails were followed up by an email from Jim O'Beirne, the special assistant to the secretary of defense for White House liaisons, who expressed exasperation that Gration informed the employees directly instead of letting O'Beirne's office know first.

"With regard to the process, I am unable to provide an explanation," O'Beirne wrote on Tuesday in the email, which was obtained by The Hill. "I played no part in it, and I will not speculate why matters were handled as they were."

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-dismisses-bush-pentagon-appointees-2008-12-30.html

[druidity33]

1. I like the sound of this... K&R, nt

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. Buh bye Bushies!

Don't let the door hit you on your well-padded asses.

[Sultana]

3. Fuck Yeah!

Clean them all out

[Turbineguy]

4. But how will we inform

Osama bin Laden where we will be looking for him next?

[tulsakatz]

5. all those guys who pledged loyalty to Bush.......

...will not be needed any longer!! I think this is a great sign of better things to come.......

[RC]

6. Obama did something right! I can get behind this!

Obama needs to go through the rest of the agencies and clean out the bu$h appointees, even after those embedded in career positions.

[HughMoran]

9. "Obama did something right!"

Wow, talk about "catapulting the propaganda"! Just wow.

[RC]

15. Sorry to disappoint you, but almost everything Obama has done so far is center or right of center.

When he does something right, it needs to be known. there needs to be less reaching across the aisle and more pandering to his base. His base includes the left of center also. I have seen very little of that.
We hired Obama to do a job that needs to be done, not to worship him. Start paying attention, ok?

[HughMoran]

20. Snarky & arrogant

I really don't think we'll be discussing much from this point onward.

[RC]

21. Fine with me.

Maybe you need to grow a hide.

[HughMoran]

23. Whatever - go shit on someone else's face

Maybe they'll grow a latex face-guard :eyes:

[Milspec]

25. "We hired Obama to do a job"

:rofl: What DU managed to contribute what $150,000 to a $750 million campaign. Lets not have delusions about the effect that DU has on the electorate.

[Divine Discontent]

32. I read that differently.

"we hired Obama" I saw as, the people who voted for him, not "DU hired him".

DU does effect the electorate in a small way, and that is more significant than most sites, as many of the people here work their asses off from door-to-door, phone calls, and are busy sending emails to thousands (I have sent important information to over 500 people at once in my address book), and some here are writers, and the rest talk to many they meet about progressive matters. We sure as hell have a lot more influence than freeperworld. LOL


And hats off to PE Obama for good news! Anything B*sh should be long gone 1/21, but we'll take what we can get. War criminals.

[cali]

31. lol. actually, much of what he's done has zip all to do with left, right or center

but people who can't think outside narrow confines are unable to recognize that not everything fits into little labeled boxes.

[dmr]

34. Isn't that the truth, cali

Sometimes decisions can be made easily, and sometimes it's like playing a chess game with a difficult and highly intelligent opponent. Fortunately for us, our new president is not only highly intelligent himself, but equally tempered and graceful.

This particular decision in itself isn't all that spectacular. It was an obvious decision. It was expected. I trust that he'll do the same in all areas within the Federal government, after all he has teams going through each agency with a fine tooth comb.

Anyway, Happy New Year!

Finally a year without old whistle ass and his arrogantly evil sidekick!

[phleshdef]

37. He hasn't done anything "to the right", at all.

Its not "too the right" to keep the current Sec. of Defense in the middle of an upcoming draw down of the war. Its just the smart thing to do.

Its not "too the right" to choose a person who favors universal access to healthcare to be over health and human services.

Its not "too the right" to choose a true progressive and champion of labor to take over the the labor department.

Its not "too the right" to choose someone that is against torture, against Gitmo and against illegal wiretapping to head the DOJ.

Its not "too the right" to introduce an economic plan that invests government heavily into the process of rebuilding our infrastructure with the goal of going green on a national level in mind.

The only thing Obama has done that is even remotely close as being "too the right" is letting Warren give his invocation, and thats not an actual policy.

I can go on and on about all the progressive and pragmatic moves taken by the Obama transition and all the left leaning policies that are part of his governing platform, but you are obviously too busy "paying attention" to all the "right wing moves" Obama has (not) made, so its probably not worth bothering. Regardless, this notion that Obama seems to be leaning to the right in any major area is an invention of your own mind.

[JuniperLea]

Without the political geography mucking it up... he's done exactly what he said he'd do...

this right of center bullshit is... bullshit.

[firedupdem]

11. jeez... n/t

[Dlicious]

17. He will. Thousands of appointees and favored Bushies will be gone in Feb n/t

[w4rma]

28. Why are any being kept on in this economy? I don't care what Gates asked for. (nt)

[glitch]

35. For those he can't fire he can create a Department of Waste, transfer them all to it

and then cut its budget and eliminate it entirely.

[knowledgeispwr]

7. K&R... we could use a positive story.

I hope the house cleaning continues.

[samplegirl]

8. Made my day!!!

:woohoo:

[Nikki Stone1]

10. Many of these are old Cold Warrior types.

It will be good to get some new blood in the Pentagon.

[Ichingcarpenter]

12. I bet they were all John Bolton Clones

that Bush appointed.

Good news from the Obama team.

[Captain Hilts]

13. Excellent! Let's hope that the Office of Special Plans is gutted. nt

[bdamomma]

Homeland Security Dept should be scrapped too.

[monmouth]

14. That's Kate O'Beirne's husband....LOVE IT!...n/t

[DCBob]

16. Excellent! This is change we can believe in!!

All the old Bushies should be cleaned out.

[AwakeAtLast]

18. Confiscate their computer hard drives and paper first

then let them go!

Oh, and, can we see that headline EVERY DAY?!?

:D

[high density]

19. That's nice he gave them a couple weeks warning

:)

[zulchzulu]

22. Yeah ....but ...but ...but

What about Warren!!!!!

:sarcasm:

[Onlooker]

24. Wow, that means only 85% are Bush appointees! LOL

But, 90 is a start.

http://www.blogsofwar.com/2008/12/04/nearly-600-political-appointees-in-the-pentagon-to-move-on/

"More than 600 political appointees work in the Defense Department"

[babylonsister]

33. I knew you could be depended on to see this as a

glass half empty. I do hope one day something will be done that meets with your approval. :eyes:

[Hekate]

26. Thousands of political appointees will lose their jobs as soon as Bush goes; that's standard

But it sure will be nice to anticipate the housecleaning.

Hekate

[Gold Metal Flake]

27. Who are they?

We need a list. It would make it easier to see where they go.

[donheld]

29. As it should be

[davidpdx]

30. I think giving them a free vacation, a one way ticket to Afghanistan

would be even better. Let them walk home.

[Joanne98]

36. YAY!

[LynneSin]

38. My guess is they kepts Gates around to help them get this war finished

He knows what is going on better than anyone. I see him being replaced within the next 1-2 years

[bdamomma]

43. unless Gates steps down.

[JuniperLea]

45. My thoughts exactly...

He knows where are the bodies are buried... literally and figuratively.

[lunatica]

39. They were dismissed for being excellent Bush loyalists too good at their jobs...

Look that at this excerpt in the article:

"In the email, O'Beirne tried to assure the soon-to-be displaced employees that the decisions were based on "policy change in the Obama administration" and not based on performance.

However, he said, if employees "harbor residual doubts" then they can "content yourself with the likelihood that it was your outstanding performance as a Bush appointee that drew the opposition's attention to you."

"In that regard, you may take justifiable satisfaction that you were among the first to be chosen," O'Beirne wrote.

Other reasons O'Beirne cited for employees' dismissal were "politics, matter of policy and availability of qualified replacements and the strength of the permanent career and uniformed staffs."



:silly: :rofl:

[MadMaddie]

40. O'Beirne is an idiot

Did he think Obama would keep all of those schills? They all knew the process, he is upset because he didn't expect it to happen until after Jan 20th.

[bdamomma]

41. smack them down Obama!!!

good stuff, send them packin!!!

[mvd]

42. Good news!

:thumbsup:

[AtomicKitten]

44. Well, that's a start.

[rhett o rick]

46. I knew someone would beat me to that line. nm

[ooglymoogly]

47. Finally a decision we can all get behind...KR with gusto nt

[yeswecanandwedid]

48. THAT'S MY PRESIDENT YO!!!! nt

[Hepburn]

49. Clap, clap, clap....

...:applause:

[GentryDixon]

50. A real DECIDER!

[Phx_Dem]

51. Hee Haw!!! Bye bye assholes.

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, and don't steal any pens.

[applegrove]

52. Woohoo! neocons and other warmongers are gone!

:woohoo:

[mucifer]

53. where are all the graduates from "bob jones university " going to go?