Obama makes picks official

Yesterday was a busy day for the Obama transition team, as he officially announced his foreign policy and national security picks:

President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet choices for his national security team were made official today, as he announced Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, Robert Gates as defense secretary, and Eric Holder as attorney general.

Other appointments Obama made public this morning were Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary, his campaign's foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador, and former Marine Gen. James Jones as national security adviser.

He reportedly has also chosen former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle as health and human services secretary and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as secretary of commerce.

I think I'd rather see Richardson as Secretary of State and Clinton disappear, but the rest of these picks are all solid enough. Unfortunately, I know the Clintons aren't going anywhere, so Obama's forced to put Hillary in a position where she can't undermine his administration without ruining her own credibility.

Holder gets AG nod

It appears that Eric Holder is probably going to be the first black US Attorney General. On the positive side, he prosecuted Dan Rostenkowsk. On the other hand, he was involved with the Clinton pardon of Marc Rich.

The Boston Globe discusses what we can expect from an AG Holder:

In a June speech to the American Constitution Society, Holder said the Bush administration had taken many steps that "were both excessive and unlawful" in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"I never thought I would see the day when a Justice Department would claim that only the most extreme infliction of pain and physical abuse constitutes torture and that acts that are merely cruel, inhuman and degrading are consistent with United States law and policy, that the Supreme Court would have to order the president of the United States to treat detainees in accordance with the Geneva Convention, never thought that I would see that a president would act in direct defiance of federal law by authorizing warrantless NSA surveillance of American citizens. This disrespect for the rule of law is not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism," Holder said in the speech.

Holder also advocated closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, transferring the remaining prisoners to the US and adopting an "expedited and procedurally fair" review process.

"It is our task over the next several years to reverse the disastrous course that we have been on over the past few years," Holder said in his conclusion.