Rahm Emanuel, Obama's pick for Chief of Staff, worked as an advisor for Bill Clinton during his term as President in the 90's. Many politicians have charged that Emanuel is too partisan, being a strict democrat. House Minority Leader John Boehner claimed, "This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil and govern from the center" (Emanuel pick gets mixed reaction). Obama ran his campaign stating that he would reach across party lines in order to proliferate bi-partisanship, yet his pick of Emanuel might say the opposite.
Finally, Obama's decision to keep Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, on board for his Presidency is completely hypocritical of his call for change in government. Secretary Gates has served under three Republican Presidents, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. Keeping Secretary gates on is not change. I support Obama's pick of a republican to encourage bi-partisanship, but he should have picked someone fresh with new ideas. In order for Barack Obama to achieve his vision of a new government must come with a new crowd. As the saying goes, if you're part of the problem, you're not part of the solution.
Works Cited:
"Emanuel Pick Gets Mixed Reaction." CNN.com 11 Nov 2008 2 Dec 2008
8 comments:
okay, so what if obama is keeping some of the same people? that doesnt make him a hypoctire. he could be keeping them because, oh I dont know, they share similar ideas and he feels that they have the experience and capacity to perform well in their position? picking hillary clinton doesnt have to be a political move, it could just be a sensible one since she is a capable women, the same with the other nominations. A superficial change in government is the last thing Obama wants-just messing up the appearance doesn't do anything. Obama preached for real change, and that change comes from the programs and the policis, not the ames of people.
I think Obama can still have 'change' with some repeating members in the cabinet. What is great about Obama is that he is open to so many ideas and various beliefs that he wants to incorporate, so keeping some traditional beliefs is also I feel a good thing to do.
He didn't run his campaign on traditional beliefs though. He ran on in fact quite the opposite, in the way that he's like no candidate we've seen before, and he takes pride in that. If he wants change, he's going to have to change his people as well.
The reason I believe Obama has chosen to keep some of the already existing members of the White House is because he might agree with their views and opinions. He should not be considered to be a hypocrite because he is choosing to work with the same people Mr.Bush worked with.
its true, Obama is unlike any other candidate in recent memory. But just because he's different doesnt mean he needto automatically be as radical as possible. A complete reform of the system with untried people in positions of such power would be disasterous. change doesnt have to come by using new people, it can come from using older people in new ways. Besides that, his selections are remarkeable- hes choosing a lot of Republicans and former Democratic opponents. A lot of people would call that remarkably different.
All his cabinet don't agree with him on every issue. General Jim Jones doesn't agree on his plan for withdrawal in Iraq.
Also Robin, you forget the fact that Obama himself is untried in this position of power. It seems the American people are looking for radical reform.
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