Monday, December 1, 2008
By MARY GILBERT
President-elect Barack Obama presented his new foreign policy team at a press conference this morning. Most of his selections had been anticipated for the last week or so, but the blogs are abuzz with thoughts on what these picks mean for Obama's approach to international issues.
- Ben Smith notes that choosing Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State "says as much about Obama's strategic judgment and his temperament as anything else he's done. It says that he's confident he can control the Clintons."
- The American Spectator's Philip Klein points out the differences between Obama and Clinton on foreign policy in the primary race. "One of two things happened" since then, he speculates. "Either Clinton has embraced Obama's vision for fundamental change, or Obama has succumbed to 'conventional Washington thinking.'"
- Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin offers her "ode" to Clinton on the eve of "Hillmas."
- Matthew Yglesias reveals that "folks I know who work on UN issues were thrilled" with Obama's selection of Susan Rice as U.S. ambassador to the world body. "Rice has a longstanding relationship with the President-Elect and sending a close adviser to Turtle Bay signals an intention to upgrade the priority given to that suite of issues. It also makes it much more likely that our UN Ambassador will be able to get the White House's attention than was the case in the Bush years."
- But Claudia Rosett feels that elevating Rice's post to the Cabinet level "is a trainwreck waiting to happen -- the main question being whether, when the train goes off the rails, Rice will be trying to drive the UN engine, or hanging on for dear life to the caboose."
- Steve Clemons thinks that Clinton is "going to push women's rights, democracy, human rights, poverty reduction and the like -- but I think she is going to be party to a realist-tilting, crafty Obama-led, Bob Gates-designed, Clinton-out-front process to get a strategic shift in U.S. foreign policy," and he "applaud[s] that." Previously, Clemons laid out "the kind of leaps" he believes Gates wants to make in the Middle East and projected that "National Security Advisor-to-be Jim Jones is on the same page as Gates -- and the two of them will constitute a considerably strong axis of power inside the Obama White House."
- Firedoglake's Christy Hardin Smith sums up the picks: "Gates at DOD, anchors the Iraq mess as Bush's legacy; Jones as national security advisor holds his own with substantial experience; and Clinton at State gives instant policy cache." Acknowledging that she does not expect to agree with all of the policies this group puts forth, she concludes: "But to have a president who is actively engaged, and intellectually sure enough to staff up with strong personalities who can challenge each other -- and him? Good lord, that's a nice change of pace."
- TalkLeft's Jeralyn also believes the new slate is "a welcome change from the Bush Administration -- and in thinking about who these appointees would be had" John McCain "been elected, I'll say we did okay with this team."
Monday, December 1, 2008
By AMY HARDER
Following in the wake of last week's Mumbai terrorist attacks, President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team at a press conference this morning in Chicago. With unrest between India and Pakistan rising over the weekend, Obama addressed the situation briefly but declined to comment further when pressed by a reporter.
"This is one of those times that I reiterate that there is one president at a time," the president-elect said. "We will be engaged in delicate diplomacy in the next several days and weeks. It would be inappropriate for me to comment, but what I can so unequivocally is that both myself and the team that stands beside are absolutely committed eliminating the threat of terrorism."
That team includes several appointments that had been rumored for weeks -- Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Department secretary, Obama's campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations and Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser.
After announcing Clinton as his secretary of State, Obama was asked about "belittling" her international experience while on the campaign trial. "This is fun for the press to try to stir up whatever quotes were formed over the course of the campaign," Obama quipped in response. "If you look at statements that [Clinton] and I have made outside of the heat of the campaign, we share a view that America has to be safe and secure." He added that in making his decision, he never experienced a "light bulb moment"; rather, once their primary battle was over, he started thinking of ways they could work together.
Continue reading Obama Stresses Pragmatism Of Security Appointees.
Monday, December 1, 2008
(Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
The Obama-Biden transition team this morning made official several key appointments, confirming reports that the president-elect was seeking Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Eric Holder for attorney general and Robert Gates as secretary of Defense.
The team also confirmed that Arizona governor -- and early Obama endorser -- Janet Napolitano was Obama's pick for DHS chief, and named retired Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser and Susan Rice as ambassador to the U.N. Combined with previously announced names, today's rollout brings the total number of announced picks from the Obama team to 42.
Check back shortly for coverage and video of Obama's press conference unveiling his national security team.
Complete release available after the jump.
Continue reading Clinton, Holder, Gates Officially Announced.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
By CORINE HEGLAND
The Obama transition team has announced policy working groups in seven areas: economic; education; energy and environment; health care; immigration; national security; and technology, innovation and government reform. Full biographies of the lucky wonks leading the groups are up on the Change.Gov Web site. The CliffsNotes version follows.
Economic
- Daniel K. Tarullo. NOW: Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. THEN: President Clinton's representative to the G-7/G-8, 1995-1998.
Education
- Linda Darling-Hammond. NOW: Education professor at Stanford University. THEN: No prior federal gig, but former president of the American Educational Research Association; former executive director of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future; former chair of the New York State Curriculum and Assessment Council.
Energy & Environment
- Carol Browner. NOW: Principal at the Albright Group. THEN: EPA Administrator, 1993-2001.
Health Care
- Tom Daschle. NOW: Adviser to law firm of Alston and Bird. THEN: Senator from South Dakota, 1987-2005; Senate Democratic Leader, 1995-2005.
Immigration
- T. Alexander Aleinikoff. NOW: Dean of Georgetown University Law Center and executive vice president of Georgetown University. THEN: General counsel and then executive associate commissioner for programs at the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1994-1997.
- Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar: NOW: Professor at Stanford Law School. THEN: Senior adviser to the undersecretary for enforcement at Treasury, 1997-1999.
National Security
- James B. Steinberg. NOW: Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. THEN: Deputy national security adviser, 1996-2000.
- Susan E. Rice. NOW: Senior fellow at Brookings. THEN: Assistant secretary of State for African Affairs, 1997-2001.
Technology, Innovation & Government Reform
- Blair Levin. NOW: Managing director of Stifel Nicolaus. THEN: Chief of staff to FEC Chairman Reed Hundt, 1993-1997.
- Sonal Shah. NOW: Head of global development at Google.org, Google's philanthropic branch. THEN: Worked at Treasury Department from 1995 to 2002, including a two-year stint at the National Security Council.
- Julius Genachowski. NOW: Co-founder of Rock Creek Ventures and LaunchBox Digital, special adviser at General Atlantic. THEN: Worked at FCC from 1994 to 1997, including stint as chief counsel to Hundt.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
President-elect
Barack Obama this afternoon sent a release to reporters naming the senior staffers to the Obama-Biden Transition Project, which will be overseen by former Clinton Chief of Staff
John Podesta, senior adviser
Valerie Jarrett and Obama's chief of staff,
Pete Rouse. The release also announced that the official Web site of the transition would launch later today at www.change.gov.
The complete release is copied below:
Chicago -- For the past several months, a board of advisors has been informally planning for a possible presidential transition. Among the many projects undertaken by the transition board have been detailed analyses of previous transition efforts, policy statements made during the campaign, and the workings of federal government agencies, and priority positions that must be filled by the incoming administration.
With Barack Obama and
Joe Biden's election, this planning process will be now be formally organized as the Obama-Biden Transition Project, a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure a smooth transition from one administration to the next. The work of this entity will be overseen by three co-chairs: John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse.
The co-chairs will be assisted by an advisory board comprised of individuals with significant private and public sector experience:
Carol Browner,
William Daley,
Christopher Edley,
Michael Froman,
Julius Genachowski,
Donald Gips, Governor
Janet Napolitano,
Federico Peña,
Susan Rice,
Sonal Shah,
Mark Gitenstein, and
Ted Kaufman. Gitenstein and Kaufman will serve as co-chairs of Vice President-elect Biden's transition team.
Supervising the day-to-day activities of the transition will be:
Transition Senior Staff:Chris Lu - Executive Director
Dan Pfeiffer - Communications Director
Stephanie Cutter - Chief Spokesperson
Cassandra Butts - General Counsel
Jim Messina - Personnel Director
Patrick Gaspard - Associate Personnel Director
Christine Varney - Personnel Counsel
Melody Barnes - Co-Director of Agency Review
Lisa Brown - Co-Director of Agency Review
Phil Schiliro - Director of Congressional Relations
Michael Strautmanis - Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs
Katy Kale - Director of Operations
Brad Kiley - Director of Operations
