Opinion: Obama Assembling Less than Inspiring Cabinet
About Michael John ScottMr. Scott is the owner and publisher of Mad Mike's America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, career law enforcement executive, and dog trainer. He is a university professor, and criminal justice consultant, holding several degrees, including a master's in criminal justice and human services. He has completed the requisite coursework toward his doctorate, and is still working on his dissertation.
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The president is both thoughtful and analytical, but his latest cabinet picks don’t necessarily reflect those attributes.
Here they are: John Kerry, Jack Lew, Chuck Hagel, and John Brennan. All fine, capable men, writes David Rothkopf at the Washington Post. But taken together as the nucleus of President Obama’s foreign policy team? Blah. What happened to the “team of rivals”? Instead, we’re getting a Cabinet filled with the “usual suspects,” complains Rothkopf. Our foreign policy is in dire need of fresh, outsider thinking. These guys are the ultimate insiders, denizens of Obama’s “comfort zone.”
“Unfortunately, old ideas and standard Washington thinking will probably be just as effective in improving foreign policy as they have been in solving economic and political problems at home,” writes Rothkopf. He does see one sign of hope, however: The “freshest and youngest voice in the group” belongs to the president himself. If the White House hopes to avoid “unhealthy groupthink,” it’s up to Obama to lead the way. Read the full column here.
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Tao Speaks
January 12, 2013 at 10:47 am
Mike,
I know that if I was in politics I could not come up with one reason why I would want to serve as a cabinet member.
You would have to put up with the senate for your confirmation, and then you would be dragged in front of the senate and or the house almost on a monthly basis.
No thanks.
Michael John Scott
January 12, 2013 at 12:04 pm
I don’t disagree at all Tao. Not jobs I would want but if called upon would perform. Wait. I think I hear the phone.
bitcodavid
January 12, 2013 at 1:05 pm
Same here. I’d jump at it. One thing I’ve done for as long as I can remember is to notice the physicality of Presidents as they serve their terms. That job ages one, at an unnatural rate. Look at any President since Johnson. 50 yrs. old, robust, a nearly full head of thick dark hair. Look at the same man 8 years later. Clinton might be the best example. 8 years added 25 to that man’s face.
But, if called – I’d answer.
Bill Formby
January 12, 2013 at 1:41 pm
It may be a cliche’ but there is a certain truth to say that it takes people who have been around the Washington circles forever to get things done. I have this notion that if a president were to bring in knowledgeable people who were not insiders they would create havoc in the capital. For example, I can see Mike as Secretary of Defense telling defense contractors, “Hell no, I am not going to give you millions of dollars to try to invent some new weapon. Each of you give it your best shot and we will pick the best one and but it at a reasonable price.” Or, to bring in real auditors to look for waste in the system.