President-elect promised change, picking insiders

**sabang** · 26-11-2008, 02:50 AM

The Christian Science Monitor seems happy enough:-

So far, the president-elect has shown himself to be a nimble pragmatist in response to the economy's rapid decline since his Nov. 4 election victory. With jobless claims at a 16-year high and rising, America's preferred agent of "change" has had to change his own transition agenda very quickly.

Instead of picking his national-security team first, as expected, Mr. Obama moved fast to assemble an economic team in order to reassure Americans and the world that he would be ready to act on Jan. 20. Markets can not afford a leadership vacuum...

All the members of Obama's economic team reflect his decision to put competency ahead of ideology. One of his more intriguing choices is Christina Romer as head of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. As a professor at the University of California-Berkeley, she has argued in academic papers that tax increases have a negative effect on investment.

Obama's nimble economics | csmonitor.com

**Jet Gorgon** · 26-11-2008, 05:47 AM

^ Nice find, Sabang. Let's see what happens; haven't read up on Romer. Summer seems ticked that Geithner is the TS pick, but he's so personally abrasive he couldn't be given that post.

**raycarey** · 26-11-2008, 05:56 AM

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Summer seems ticked that Geithner is the TS pick.

on what, pray tell, is this based on?

link to anything that would substantiate this claim.

**Norton** · 26-11-2008, 10:35 AM

Damn. Another insider!!!!!

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay in his job when president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, with an announcement expected next week, reports said late Tuesday."

AFP: Gates to stay as Pentagon chief: reports

**DrivingForce** · 26-11-2008, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by Norton

Damn. Another insider!!!!!

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay in his job when president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, with an announcement expected next week, reports said late Tuesday."

AFP: Gates to stay as Pentagon chief: reports

yah, I got hell for posting that possibility when it first popped up about a week ago...He's pretty much just riding coat tails here, much of the measures were already in place and now over his term it will all begin to pan out and he'll be the world hero..

i like Gates but the fact is he doesn't represent "change" and his policies were already in place and turning the war in Iraq around.
i wasn't particularly impressed with Bush but let's be fair here he began his first term with a terrorist attack unlike any other in history and confronted an unseen, cowardly enemy that hides in caves and took the fight to their backyard instead of waiting passively for another attack and that strategy has prevented further attacks and drained their resources...

Bush had already made all of these admissions and direction changes that they are lauding about Obama doing, for Bush it was a detriment but for the super hero it displays good decision making and strong conviction, an obvious double standard...

now he ends his term with this world wide economic Tsunami which in spite of peoples perception he had little to do with. it is also in large part a by-product in some sense of the terrorist attacks and other factors beyond his control, but inevitably his admin in it's short time left has also taken positive steps to turn that in a new direction but it won't happen during his term so thus he won't get the credit instead just like Clinton the "One" will reap all of the accolades again..

the writing on the wall is so clear it's incomprehensible to me how others can deny it?

**Texpat** · 26-11-2008, 01:26 PM

Gates? You mean that Bush lackey?

Damn, BO, bring some game, brother.

I suppose it's best not to fcuk around with Defense too much right off the bat if you don't know the difference between a P-3

and a P-38.

**Norton** · 26-11-2008, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Texpat

Gates? You mean that Bush lackey?

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

You sussed it, Brother.

Guess some folks just can't be pleased no matter who he picks.

Another P-38 for your perusal.

**sabang** · 26-11-2008, 01:56 PM

Probably a bit early for a 'Why Obama will win Reelection' thread, but he's looking good at the starting gates.

The guy is a pragmatist- not a left wing loonie, not a Chicago mobster, a Muslim, an Arab, or a race warrior. A moderate in every sense of the word- not a radical statist like Bush. The Press reports I am reading suggest a growing comfort level with his pending administration, even among many former sceptics.

One obvious factor that differentiates Obama from the myopic Bush administration is that he is casting his net much wider for his senior advisers- for example he has financial conservatives in his team, and is retaining Gates as Pentagon chief. Not just a bunch of neo-con relics like Bush' team, or Chicago politicians as was implied by a few here.

**Texpat** · 26-11-2008, 02:04 PM

Wow, Gates goes from evil warmonger to competent strategist overnight.

Amazing.

BO's not even in office yet, Sabang. The starry-eyed honeymoon will be over soon enough.

You might want to have your stomach X-rayed for the hook, line and sinker.

**sabang** · 26-11-2008, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by Texpat

The starry-eyed honeymoon will be over soon enough.

Absolutely, and rightly so. I've inferred this in several posts. Which is why the moves and preparation taken by Obama thus far augur well for his Presidency.

Originally Posted by Texpat

Gates goes from evil warmonger to competent strategist overnight.

I have no idea if Gates was in favour of the disastrous invasion of Iraq or not, but he inherited the mess and is doing a much better job than his predecessor. I've never been critical of Gates.

Originally Posted by Texpat

You might want to have your stomach X-rayed for the hook, line and sinker.

I assume all of you that argued against my "Why Obama will Win" thread have already undergone that procedure.

**DrivingForce** · 26-11-2008, 02:32 PM

Originally Posted by Texpat

Wow, Gates goes from evil warmonger to competent strategist overnight.

Amazing.

BO's not even in office yet, Sabang. The starry-eyed honeymoon will be over soon enough.

You might want to have your stomach X-rayed for the hook, line and sinker.

have no more greens at the moment

**AntRobertson** · 26-11-2008, 02:34 PM

I wonder if either of you are actually able to find any references at all to Gates as an 'evil warmonger' from anyone on this forum. Rather inconvenient to your theory if you can't.

**DrivingForce** · 26-11-2008, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I wonder if either of you are actually able to find any references at all to Gates as an 'evil warmonger' from anyone on this forum. Rather inconvenient to your theory if you can't.

you've heard of guilt by association right?? a common enough tactic in law enforcement and politics. it isn't us that have accused him of being an 'evil warmonger' but i guess that hypocrisy was lost on you eh?

**Texpat** · 26-11-2008, 02:43 PM

Remember all those hundreds, maybe thousands of references to the failed administration? I do.

This guy was/is a central part of that.

But it's cool. Now he's a clever military strategist. It's all good.

**AntRobertson** · 26-11-2008, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by DrivingForce

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I wonder if either of you are actually able to find any references at all to Gates as an 'evil warmonger' from anyone on this forum. Rather inconvenient to your theory if you can't.

you've heard of guilt by association right?? a common enough tactic in law enforcement and politics. it isn't us that have accused him of being an 'evil warmonger' but i guess that hypocrisy was lost on you eh?

Are you being intentionally dim? Who has accused him of being an 'evil warmonger'?

**DrivingForce** · 26-11-2008, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Originally Posted by DrivingForce

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I wonder if either of you are actually able to find any references at all to Gates as an 'evil warmonger' from anyone on this forum. Rather inconvenient to your theory if you can't.

you've heard of guilt by association right?? a common enough tactic in law enforcement and politics. it isn't us that have accused him of being an 'evil warmonger' but i guess that hypocrisy was lost on you eh?

Are you being intentionally dim?

no more so than you are..

**raycarey** · 26-11-2008, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

I wonder if either of you are actually able to find any references at all to Gates as an 'evil warmonger' from anyone on this forum. Rather inconvenient to your theory if you can't.

of course texpat can't back it up. in fact, as an example, here's my post approx 48 hours after the election...

Originally Posted by raycarey

it's a virtual certainty that there will be at least 1 republican in obama's cabinet. above all, gates is competent....which is exactly what was needed after the first 5 + years of 'rumsfeldian' fuck ups. however, i wouldn't be totally surprised if he didn't want to step down in january....my feeling at the time was that he took the job not because he wanted it, but rather felt duty bound to take it.

**raycarey** · 26-11-2008, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by Texpat

Remember all those hundreds, maybe thousands of references to the failed administration? I do.

This guy was/is a central part of that.

But it's cool. Now he's a clever military strategist. It's all good.

what a load of crap. by any measure, it is a failed administration....if you could take your partisan blinders off for just a moment, you might be able to see that.

gates was brought in (most likely at the request of jim baker and 41) to help clean up the mess created by the first six years of the GWB administration.

after wasting billions in treasure and thousands of lives, it was past time for adults to start taking the lead roles in US foreign policy....and gates fits the requirements. i certainly don't agree with him on every issue, but he's competent and responsible....unlike rumsfeld.

but go ahead texpat, show us a single instance of anyone on this board saying anything derogatory or negative about gates. it may exist, but i don't remember reading it.

but you made the post, now back it up.

**Texpat** · 26-11-2008, 09:53 PM

No, Reach Around, I remember it well. But I don't go on scavenger hunt's on your orders. Get over yourself.

Gates took over from Rumsfeld on Dec 18, 2006. Almost two years ago. And in those intervening two years you and your nutty brothers have howled constantly about US military policy and operations around the world. Mr Gates has been the leader of that organization for two years...

Just seems a bit hypocritical now to embrace this suddenly studied, efficient, likable guy as a smart choice, Reach Around, don't you agree?

Can we all say hypocrites together?

Yes we can!

**raycarey** · 26-11-2008, 09:56 PM

but go ahead texpat, show us a single instance of anyone on this board saying anything derogatory or negative about gates. it may exist, but i don't remember reading it.

but you made the post, now back it up.

you made a claim in which you attempted to malign other posters, and you should be able to support that claim, right?

if you can't, just man up and admit it.

**raycarey** · 26-11-2008, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by sabang

I've never been critical of Gates.

i don't think anyone here in issues has been.....but texpat disagrees.

i look forward to reading the post in which provides evidence of this.

**DrivingForce** · 26-11-2008, 10:17 PM

^Geez pick any one of your anti-Bush threads or any number of your own regurgitating posts on the topic of the Iraq war or the Bush admin prior to the elections..

I know it's difficult for a leopard to change its spots but for Christ sakes stop being so intentionally obtuse RC..

**Texpat** · 26-11-2008, 10:23 PM

^ That's RA.

The Surge, which was roundly ridiculed by the TD numb skulls, yet turned out spectacularly successful -- all Gates.

I agree he's a decent selection for the Obamaniacs -- but let's be honest with ourselves. There are quite a few here that have ridden this guy for years and now suddenly embrace him as their own.

Hilarious.

**raycarey** · 26-11-2008, 10:28 PM

well, this is all very unseemly texpat.

either come up with the evidence or admit you were wrong.....surely your mommy told you that was the correct thing to do, right?

but this is becoming boring, so i guess i'll leave you off the hook....and stop expecting even the smallest measure of accountability from you.

**Boon Mee** · 27-11-2008, 02:38 AM

^
Heh...reach-around is the ultimate dick, eh?

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