Or would you lefties call him a chicken hawk? Isn’t that what you guys call hawks who haven’t served in the military? Evidently, the anti-war lefties are miffed that Obama’s filling his cabinet with…er…neo-cons?
When is Obama going to appoint someone who reflects the progressive base that brought him to the White House?
He won the crucial Iowa caucuses on the strength of his anti-Iraq War stance, and many progressive peace and justice activists worked hard for him against John McCain.
[...]
And if Obama really wanted change, if he really wanted to honor progressives who backed him early on and then did the grunt work against McCain, he’d nominate Dennis Kucinich as Secretary of State.
That sure would indicate a welcome departure from empire as usual.
Kuchinich for Secretary of State? Really? You think that’s a good idea? Um…it’s good that Obama’s a little more savvy than his supporters. He understands that the world expects someone a little more serious than Kucinich.
But there’s really not too much they can do about it and they realize it:
Martin said that his group was concerned about Gates and Clinton as well as Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s choice for White House chief of staff. He also said his group was trying to mobilize its grass-roots supporters with e-mail alerts, but recognized that it must approach the subject delicately because of public euphoria over Obama’s historic victory.
“There’s so much Obama hero worship, we’re having to walk this line where we can’t directly criticize him,” he said. “But we are expressing concern.”
Well, if it turns out to be true and Obama does govern as a hawk, I’ll be relieved. I think the pressure is on and Obama realizes it. He doesn’t want to mess up now that the Democrats are in charge, better to govern from the center when it comes to foreign policy than on your lunatic fringe.
posted November 21, 2008 at 11:03 am
“He doesn’t want to mess up now that the Democrats are in charge, better to govern from the center when it comes to foreign policy than on your lunatic fringe.”
What’s amazing is that this surprises anyone on the left. We elected a pragmatist.
posted November 21, 2008 at 1:21 pm
When is Obama going to appoint someone who reflects the progressive base
California’s Nichols for the EPA.
posted November 21, 2008 at 3:02 pm
“Evidently, the anti-war lefties are miffed that Obama’s filling his cabinet with…er…neo-cons?”
keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
gene is right. this is exactly what i expected from obama, knowing his history of being a pragmatist and not the radical fringe liberal that you wanted everyone to believe he was. this is the change that we voted for – from radical right, unilateral, unchecked executive powers, living in a bubble bush years.
“better to govern from the center when it comes to foreign policy than on your lunatic fringe”
well spoken from one of those on the lunatic rightie fringe. this is a lesson that bush/mccain should have learned.
posted November 21, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Michelle, didn’t you vote for a chicken hawk, twice? At least we won’t be getting another Rumsfeld.
posted November 22, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Obama has never been a fringe “lefty”, despite all your whining to the contrary, Michele. He’s said all along that he’s not opposed to all wars. He’s just opposed to *dumb* wars, like the one Bush got us into in Iraq.
The chances of Obama ever nominating someone like Kucinich for anything were nil before the Democratic nomination was even decided. He’s *always* been a pragmatist and a centrist, which is what many Obama supporters like myself have known for ages, and why we voted for him. It’s just that people like you fell for the idiotic propaganda from the far right loonies on talk radio and Fox News trying to tell you otherwise.
Act surprised all you want, but anyone with an IQ over 100 knew that Obama wasn’t the raging radical leftist that the GOP tried to turn him into, and that he was a pragmatist from the get-go.