The Obama Cabinet and Transition

by Keith Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, December 5, 2008

President Elect Barack Obama has wasted little time in getting the transition rolling as he prepares to succeed George W. Bush in the Oval Office. The current lame duck president is already shrinking into the background as Obama’s plans, strategies and proposed solutions are highlighted in the media as though he were already occupying the White House. Bush seems all too happy to assume the fading identity amid the struggling economy and the strife of foreign affairs. Wearied and concerned, the American public is poised and focused on the early moves in Obama’s game of chess, hoping the news will be good.

Not all the attention being paid is anticipation. Critics abound. Those on the progressive side scrutinize each pick looking for traces of the Bush administration’s policies. Those on the right overanalyze decisions looking for any nugget that might prove the hype surrounding Obama’s election campaign was undeserved.

The cabinet choice that has received the most attention at the start is probably Obama’s tapping of Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. Many have questioned whether two warring camps in such a hotly contested primary race could reconcile to produce a working relationship. Some have pointed to differences in stances on the war in Iraq as obstacles to relations between the White House and the State Department. A few have spotlighted an election season faux pas, in which Clinton misrepresented a Bosnia excursion as proof that Clinton is ill-suited for the post. Still others claim that Bill Clinton has conflicts of interest or business partnerships that pose roadblocks to his wife’s confirmation. I am confident, however, that Hillary will survive the vetting process and will be an asset to Obama’s foreign policy team. In fact, a Secretary that does not share the president’s brain (similar to Colin Powell’s moderate resistance to Bush’s hawkish enthusiasm) will be a welcome contrast to the “yes man” role of Condoleezza Rice.

Also generating some concern among liberals was Obama’s decision to keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates on board in the new administration. A Bush pick, Gates sparks some fear of a continuation of failed policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and heightens fears among some that an Iran invasion may be on the horizon. It also represents a contradiction to some that Obama preached change throughout his campaign and is now populating his cabinet with individuals who represent the old guard. But Gates’ selection represents an open-minded approach that is in keeping with his promise of Change. It stands in contrast to George W. Bush’s scorched earth transition, which sought to expunge any evidence of his predecessor’s regime. Gates also provides some stability NS continuity as adjustments are made to troop levels and missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I don’t agree with every pick I’ve seen so far. Janet Napolitano is a little hawkish for my taste as head of the Homeland Security Department. Support from Republicans like Senator John McCain and Senator Jon Kyl give me some pause. But her role as governor of a border state does give her a unique perspective on potential external threats. Unfortunately that role also gives her a hard-line approach to immigration that concerns me.

The most attention should be paid to Obama’s picks for positions that have a bearing on the economic crisis currently afflicting the U.S. Again, there have been criticisms from both sides on Obama’s choice of Timothy Geithner to succeed Henry Paulson as Treasury Secretary. I am unqualified to endorse or attack Geithner or his qualifications, but I will compliment the speed with which Obama has begun to stitch together his economic team. It is undeniable that the situation is dire and that due urgency is needed to build a task force that can begin to address the crisis on the new administration’s first day of service. While Obama has and will be criticized for dipping into Clinton’s toolbox, or trading change for old-school Washington politics as usual, the hope is that these tools are sharp and represent the intellectual horsepower needed to pull the country out of its current mess.

It should also be noted that Obama has mentioned Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Lincoln biography Team of Rivals, which examines the way that Lincoln filled some of his cabinet positions with his staunchest opponents. While the current announcements don’t present a mixed bag of candidates, the retention of Gates as Defense Secretary and transition team head John Podesta’s promise of “multiple Republicans” does give us hope that Obama will surround himself with dissenting voices as well as loyal advisors