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.

Over the weekend

Over the weekend, Barack Obama officially resigned his Senate seat, and some new appointees were chosen:

Washington lawyer Gregory B. Craig will be White House counsel, according to a person involved in the transition, and Obama's Senate chief of staff, Peter M. Rouse, 62, was officially announced as a senior White House adviser. Two deputy chiefs of staff were also announced: Jim Messina and Mona K. Sutphen.

Thus far, Obama's selections have been mostly a mix of Washington veterans -- many with ties to the Clinton administration -- and trusted campaign aides. Late last week, the president-elect named close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett as a senior White House aide. Campaign strategist David Axelrod will also hold a senior advisory role.

Gregory B. Craig defended Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial.

Are the Clintons causing problems already?

According to the Politico, Bill's Clinton Global Initiative might cost Hillary the job at State:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is President-elect Barack Obama’s first choice for secretary of State but his aides are becoming exasperated by the Clinton camp’s pokey response to demands for extensive information about former President Bill Clinton’s finances, according to numerous Democrats involved in the process.

...

it could prove problematic for Obama if the former president continues to arrange donations from foreign countries at the same time that his wife, as secretary of state, is asking them for diplomatic concessions. The Clinton Global Initiative, which has raised more than $30 billion since 2005, has matched several foreign governments with projects, including a $1 billion pledge from Norway in 2007.

Clinton under consideration

I've been keeping my fingers crossed for a Bill Richardson selection as Secretary of State, but it looks like I might be disappointed. Apparently, Hillary Clinton is now under consideration.

Now I don't think Hillary would necessarily be a bad Secretary of State. I'm just generally sick and tired of the Clintons. After 20 years of Bush-Clinton politics, I'm ready for both families to go away. We have an opportunity to move away from the hyper-partisanship that's characterized politics under these two families, and elevating Hillary to the State Department jeopardizes that.

Barack Obama's in a bad spot, however. On one hand, I'm sure he'd like to avoid rewarding the Clintons, both of whom were fairly nasty during the primaries. On the other hand, making Hillary part of the administration ties her to the success or failure of the Obama administration. Leaving Hillary in the Senate leaves her (and Bill) in a position to undermine Obama for the next four years, then make another run for President in 2012.

Extensive or invasive?

Potential appointees to the Obama administration are undergoing unprecedented scrutiny. Not only is the Obama transition team looking to avoid situations that caused embarrassment to past administrations, it's also looking closely at potential conflicts of interest that might be caused by spouses or children working as lobbyists. According to Wednesday's New York Times:

A seven-page questionnaire being sent by the office of President-elect Barack Obama to those seeking cabinet and other high-ranking posts may be the most extensive — some say invasive — application ever.

The questionnaire includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants’ spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps.

Only the smallest details are excluded; traffic tickets carrying fines of less than $50 need not be reported, the application says. Applicants are asked whether they or anyone in their family owns a gun. They must include any e-mail that might embarrass the president-elect, along with any blog posts and links to their Facebook pages.

Gates to remain?

According to the Wall Street Journal:

President-elect Barack Obama is leaning toward asking Defense Secretary Robert Gates to remain in his position for at least a year, according to two Obama advisers. A senior Pentagon official said Mr. Gates would likely accept the offer if it is made.

First, he extended an olive branch to Joe Lieberman. Now, Barack Obama's at least thinking about rewarding one of the few bright spots from the last administration. Granted, it's only been a week, but it sure didn't take that long for any hope of bipartisanship to bite the dust in post-election 2000.

Rahm Emanuel

Barack Obama's first big decision after winning last Tuesday was to designate Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff. That appointment should put to rest any notion that Obama's got some kind of anti-Israeli agenda in mind. Emanuel's also a notoriously pushy asshole, which makes him a perfect bad-cop enforcer to Obama's good-cop. And while his experience in the fledgling Clinton administration doesn't ensure a mistake-free early presidency, it does at least ensure that the Obama administration probably won't repeat the exact same mistakes.