Obama answers liberal critics on personnel choices

"Obama suggested it is unrealistic to expect him to bypass the best people available simply because of ties to the last Democratic administration." This worries me because Obama seems to think that these are the best people available. All signs point to Obama becoming the Great Disappointment. Hope I'm wrong, but there's no evidence to make me feel differently.

I thought the only people who were convinced Obama was a superliberal socialist were the Republicans. I didn't vote for this guy to make the left wing of the Democratic Party happy, I voted for him to solve the mess that we're in.

Whoah. Ideology? Come on, that's not allowed people.
Oh wait, yes, it is, as long as it's liberal.

Just goes to show, even the Dems don't want the looney-left.

Ha Ha Ha HA He He Ho

It is only 22 days since and we are already on the attack? Say it ain't so friends. I never viewed the President Elect as the most progressive candidate in the race. He was not this black man's first choice. But he has my support today. I would suggest liberal and progressive voices leave the attacks to folks on the Right. We may not agree with all his choices, and I know I won't agree with all his decisions. I think we need to move forward from a positive place. If the President Elect. as an organize can pull a diverse coalition together to move our country he has my support.

It'll all be for the good when all those people who threw their hearts into the campaign, and expected better, realize they have to organize independently of the Democrats, take to the streets, and make the social costs of centrism too high. Cf. JFK and the 60's.

Change, Change, Change, Hope, Change, Change, Change, Hope.
Hey I'm Elected! They bought this hope and change crap!
It's going to be just like President Carter...only worse.
Obama proves he is a sophomore with a good rap and the masses ate it up.
He's a disappointment before he is in the oval office.
Did you see his press conference...Wow! What sarcasm and arrogance at being asked a pointed question.

For all those who constantly complain about Obama's selection of former Clinton cabinet members along with no-members like Geithner, consider this. In dealing with the economic disaster quickly (not to mention Iraq, etc), he faces a no-win situation. Either he appoints people with heavy-weight experience and gets hammered by those screaming, "This is change?" Or he chooses liberal outsiders to handle the mess and gets accused of putting the country at risk.

For all the snide naysayers on both the far Left and far Right, here’s an idea: tell us who you geniuses would pick and what exactly you'd do differently. Until then I won’t be holding my breath, and most of you should stop wasting yours.

Meantime, this Thanksgiving, there are two things (politically speaking) for which we should be truly grateful: Bush is leaving and that turkey Palin is not moving in.

Nnnghh... I hate extremists... Sabato is absolutely right. Yes, we have a Democrat congress and presidency, but appointing mostly centrist figures is possibly the single smartest thing Obama can do at this time. Being in power doesn't mean you should ignore the other party, and if his potential appointees are any indication, our President Elect agrees with me on that sentiment.

I voted for Barack proudly, but these super-left liberal bloggers are starting to make me embarrassed to be a Democrat. Sheesh.

I suspect Obama's treading a very fine line, appeasing the business-as-usual contingent so as to avoid being stonewalled completely. If his campaign is any indication, he's one to let the career politicos bluster enough to placate their more problematic constituents, then lay down the law once they've had the chance to save face.

I'm sure Obama can make better picks, but we have no crystal ball as to what they'll do; I certainly don't. What I stress is pulling together the local alliances at the base, wide ones including the unions and community groups, putting together a 'Green Jobs Not War Jobs' package suited to your area, including HR 676 'Healthcare not Warfare,' with ending the war, no wider wars and cutting the Pentagon budget as the way it gets funded, then mobilize your forces, starting locally and take them all the way to DC and make him do it. That's what he invited us to do in the campaign, regardless of anything else he or his advisers say otherwise. Now we need ORGANIZERS more so than agitators. Let's 'git 'er done.

Go Obama! But please begin to rein in the war machine. Obviously it will be difficult, if not impossible, to solve substantial problems as long as we keep sending billions down that rat hole.

This is beautiful, next he will be caught with an intern under his desk. Groundhog Day redux. And wtf is with "The Office of the President Elect" I never saw a word about that in the Constitution, then again rewriting the Constitution has never been a problem for the left elite. Bubba must be giddy!

Obama have to acknowledge that he is coming in the same school of so called no experience ; people taught that one time but with so many debate, Obama demonstrated that experience is not based on number of the year someone has worked but how he or she understand the sign of the time and adjust themselve to that change. Number of the years someone has spent in Cliton's or government administrationthe is not equal to change. Change is the understanding of the wrong and that willingness and good will to do what is right for the people. smart people with good will can still bring change like Obama

Sometimes the most progressive policy makers are those who have once held positions of power and regret not taking more progressive, risky positions. Witness John McNamara's change of heart. I predict that some of these "centrists" will be quite progressive knowing the have a boss who is willing to take risks.

The fallacy behind Obama's argument that he will provide the vision, and the experienced people below him will simply implement it, is that he -- as inexperienced as he is himself -- will simply be unable to contradict the advice these people give him on the matters for which they are responsible. They will "explain" to him what is "doable" and what isn't, conforming to their own notions of what they have always imagined to be doable and worth doing.

Clearly, Obama has never had executive experience, and it shows. He won't be guiding those underneath him -- they will guide and direct him.

"What we are going to do is combine experience with fresh thinking"

which means, Obama will act fresh, while Kissinger does the thinking!

HOPE, yay!

i always thought that you represented the views of the voter that elected you.

Looking back to the secrecy, rigidity and good buddies of W. Bush appointments Obama's picks are like a balloon release. How could so many Bush cabinet crisis decisons have taken the USA in the wrong direction? Bush gave trial and error management a bad name. Is Obama's preinauguration enthusiasm and take over the issue of critics, or hiring names of the past? Sour grapes from Neocons regarding the election and cabinet appointments accepted, one must respect the intellect, demeanor and insight of Obama and his appointees as the impetus to change he promised. The results will be critiqued as history is made.

Idealogy does not solve problems. I think the President Elect Obama has chosen a good team, considering the problems that need to be addressed. I think that the country will move forward although, as he has said, it will take time. It took time to get into the present mess, and it well take time to get out.

Obama is a conservative. Democrats might rationalize some illusory centrist position, but he's much more comfortable as a conservative.

Obama has changed his position on Bush's wars, supported legalizing domestic spying by the government and corporations and is promoting a ridiculous financial bailout for corporations and handing citizens the bill. The latter is as close to indentured servitude as one can get in this 21st Century.

It was Bill Clinton that signed the republican bill to deregulate the financail industry, support a near decade long "no fly zone" in Iraq and aided the conservatives in consolidating media to the detriment of this nation and its people. Obama now fills his cabinet and ultimately the government with conservative minded people whose ideology brought us to this nation's present decrepitude.

We can say a lot of nice things about Obama and his administration but until they can dig deep into the root cause of every financial problems that causes unemployments and left many people poorer and have little money in their hands then all the nice words are for nothing.I'm starting to see some causes of our financial woe as a nation and that is too many rules and regulation that targeted peoples immigration status,race,culture and traditions.I like what Ted Kennedy said last year during the anti immigration rallies and that is it seems like they're trying to and I quote " to criminalise people". Why don't the law makers set their eyes and priorties on making sure every families and individuals living in this country are equal in incomes and all services .Target the root causes of wasted money not innocent people.

What do you expect from a guy named after a killer HUSSEIN SO WHEN HE SCREWS UP from his lack of knowledge WE CAN BLAME THE IDIOTS THAT PUT HIM THERE so when we have another 9/11 THE IDIOTS TO BLAME ARE THE ONES THAT PUT HIM THERE cause he has no knowledge of foreign experience HE WILL GET US KILLED so basically when Family's are targeted cause of his lack og experience the only people to blame are the ones that put him in office so explain to your children that that you put there life in danger

Sounds like a member of the "worship Obama" club, also known as the major media, actually asked a real reporter- type question to their Messiah. Did that really happen?
MSNBC will be outraged if it is so.

Paula, get a grip and wipe the spittle off your screen. Your physician can recommend a good medication to deal with the delusional paranoia.

Seriously.

some change..............

Are we expecting a man who has organized a community (e.g. agitated low income people to sit in at bank presidents' homes in order to obtain mortgages they can't repay) and run for office most of his adult life to know how to lead a nation? Although I never trusted playboy-in-chief Clinton to do anything that wasn't self-serving and did not trust the people he gathered around him, at least they have now had experience in running something besides a campaign. I HOPE they have CHANGED and care as much about their country as they do about retaining power, but I doubt it. A second Clinton Administration is a scary thing to contemplate, but it's preferable to an Obama Administration in the United Socialist States of America.

Great! The people that got us into this mess are put in position to get us out. When are we going to have enough, Tired of the clowns, circus acts and the side show.

This was an election of a president for the whole country. We had eight years of a president who catered only to the people who elected him. They were the growth at any cost bunch and the anti-abortion group. They financed Bush and they were catered to.

The president sets policy and choses priorities and in a tough situation has the last say. He never said he was going to get out of Iraq because he is against war, but rather that the conduct of this war was not in the national interest. I expect him to keep his word on that and make a good faith attempt to get out in 16 months. Getting out quickly is still less important than doing it safely. Obama bears watching but that would be true if Hagel was Sec. of State