Dude, Jolie is an Oscar-winning actress has given here and there some terrific performances.

But she still is an attention whore Drama Queen.

The same with Hillary, and despite my personal dislike for her, she is the closest we've gotten to a female President in our history, with some 18 million primary votes, and the first First Lady to be elected to office.

I am disappointed in the Hillary pick, but not because I don't think she's capable. I just don't care for her anymore (personally). However, I do think it most likely is a very smart political move because she IS well respected and liked throughout the world, and is a smart woman. I give Obama credit for having the guts for this pick. As long as she knows who's boss, it'll probably work out just fine (I hope anyway).


TIS

He's the boss, Tis. If she doesn't like being told what to do, she can resign.

It's a good move by Obama because it gets her out of the Senate, where she can make all kinds of noise about him, with an "I-told-you-so" type of attitude.

I doubt there's any real trust between the two of them.

I'm just thrilled to get her the Hell out of New York.

I think I said it before, but I believe this was a deal in the works that was made a long time ago, in order to get the Clintons on board during the campaign. She had to have been promised something.

What pisses me off is that the article in my local paper today says that the Governor will likely pick someone from upstate NY (Niagara Falls area) to fill her seat. NY is such a complicated state, with the needs of the Niagara region so different from the needs of the downstate region. There, the economy was depressed long before it hit here. Plus, the cost of living is so much less there. With someone from upstate in the seat, how can they really represent the downstate area???

Obama: Congress right in sending Detroit 3 back empty-handed

http://www.freep.com/article/20081124/BUSINESS01/81124033

This is how I wish the auto industry CEO's had responded to the Congress and President-Elect..

Feds: "So we won't approve a loan until you can show us a plan and agree to produce cars we think you should sell.."

Auto Industry: "Now Citigroup and AIG have already received over $50 Billion in GRANTS, not loans, and are getting more as we speak, is that right?"

Feds: "That's right."

Auto Industry: "So why on earth would we consider accepting anything other than what they got?"

Feds: "Because we don't like you. You and your gas guzzling old industry Midwestern dinosaurs and corrupt greedy unions. You come out here to Washington D.C. and pollute this nice clean place. Oh we'll do business with you but we despise you. None of us would drive an American vehicle if we didn't need the votes from your simple minded workers. Now don't talk to us again. When you decide on your answer, contact Axelrod or Waxman."

Auto Industry: "You can have my answer now if you like."

Feds: "Yes?"

Auto Industry: "My answer is this. No. We will take the same bailout you're giving to Citigroup and AIG. And no on the "business plan" either, which I would appreciate if you personally created for us."

It's not out of the question that Bill Clinton would be nominated to take Hillary's Senate seat.

Bill Clinton in the Senate? His ego could not take it.

Why don't the Gov. just nominate himself?

He said he didn't want it and that he wants to run for re-election in 2010 or 2012 or whatever. My money is on Andrew Cuomo...it removes a political threat to Patterson in his bid for re-election.
Long shot....Caroline Kennedy.

BTW why do they have to have someone from upstate? I don't remember any upstate NY senators. RFK, Damato, Schumer, Hillary Javits all from down state.

Because upstate is where the energy is, my friend - Niagara Mohawk and all of its hydropower.

chicagotribune.com
Gates to remain as defense secretary

By Julian E. Barnes, Paul Richter and Christi Parsons

Tribune reporters

9:39 PM CST, November 25, 2008

WASHINGTON


Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has agreed to serve in President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet, advisors said Tuesday, setting up the unusual situation in which a wartime Pentagon chief remains to work under a president who has condemned the previous administration's policies.

An official close to the Obama transition team said it was likely Gates would be named Defense secretary when the president-elect begins to unveil his national security team in announcements expected next week.

A former government official who has advised the Obama transition said that it was "99% certain" that Gates would remain as Defense secretary for about a year in the Obama adminitration.

"Nothing is definitive," the fomer official said. "But Gates did agree to stay on."

Advisors also said that Obama appears poised to name Gen. James L. Jones, a former Marine commandant and onetime supreme allied commander of NATO, as his national security advisor.

In both men, Obama apparently has settled on respected defense leaders who have worked well with ranking officials of both political parties and would have been welcomed in either a Democratic or Republican White House.

In two years as Defense secretary, Gates has stepped off considerable distance from the approach and policies of his predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and projected an image of independence from President Bush, including over the nation's ongoing wars.

As early as his Senate confirmation hearing, Gates shunned the administration's stubborn insistence that it was winning the war in Iraq, and has represented a potent check against White House troop strategies.

But along with his non-partisan appeal, Gates is valued as a careful steward whose execution of White House policy is marked by caution and an aversion to acting precipitously. For Obama, who wants to remove U.S. combat brigades quickly, support from Gates would provide considerable credibility for the new administration's policies.

Talk of a possible partnership between Obama and Gates has circulated since early this year. But for much of that time, military officials have voiced concern over Obama's proposed timetable for withdrawal.

However, a recent accord between U.S. and Iraqi officials sets a withdrawal timeline similar to Obama's proposal, narrowing differences between the two sides in the debate and easing military resistance to Obama.

Not all details have been worked out, those familiar with some of the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the appointment has not been made publicly.

The former government official said some difficult issues may still be unresolved, including questions deputies who Gates will be allowed to keep, and which Pentagon jobs Obama's transition team will fill.

"The real issue is: Who does Gates keep, and does Obama have a say in what team is there," the official said.

Gates may want Gordon England to remain as deputy Defense secretary, the official said. But some Obama transition officials have indicated they want that job to go to Richard Danzig, a top foreign policy adviser to Obama. Danzig then could be nominated for the secretary's position when Gates leaves.

The negotiations over such details could prompt Gates to change his mind, the former official said, but added he considered that possibility to be remote.

Senior advisors to Gates remained tightlipped on Tuesday, and military officials said they did not know what Gates had decided to do. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, said he didn't know whether Gates would stay on, but said he hoped he would.

"If the president-elect has prevailed on the secretary to stay, I think that would be a healthy thing, a good thing," Schwartz said. "For stability and continuity it is a good thing."

Since joining the Bush administration, Gates has insisted he plans to leave government service when a new president arrives and retire to his home in Washington state. But he also has criticized military commanders for what he has seen as a failure to adequately equip and protect rank-and-file troops, leading some who know him to suspect he would remain in the job if possible.

A chief motivation for him staying on for a period of about a year would be to provide a smooth transition. Obama's defense transition team began meeting with leaders of the military services this week, receiving unclassified briefings on priorities and needs.

Gates also was seen as a likely pick for Republican presidential John McCain, who differed sharply with Obama on the wisdom of invading Iraq and proposals for getting out.

Obama is expected to broaden his administration's military depth next week by naming Jones, 64, as his national security advisor, advisors said.

Jones is known as a nonpartisan, centrist figure who is respected by Congress and the military.

Like Gates, Jones was courted by campaigns of both parties in the past two years. He was approached by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in 2006 to be her deputy, but declined her offer.

Analysts believe Jones would be a strong figure in the White House job, able to hold his own against bureaucratic challenges from the Pentagon and the State Department. Obama's team believes too much power has migrated to the Pentagon since the Iraq war began, and would prefer to restore the White House's role at the center of command.

However, Jones has not agreed with all of Obama's stances. He has said that the United States should not set a deadline for departure from Iraq.

Jones has been serving as a Bush administration Mideast envoy charged with helping reorganize the troubled Palestinian security forces. He grew up in France, where his father was an International Harvester executive, and speaks fluent French.

Next week's appointments are likely to include Hillary Clinton as secretary of State. Clinton has agreed to accept the post, giving a central administration role to Obama's main primary election opponent.

Obama also is expected to appoint James B. Steinberg, who was deputy national security advisor in the Clinton years, to be deputy secretary of State under Clinton. Steinberg is known as brainy and intense, and could help backstop Clinton in areas in which she is less familiar.

Obama is expected to make Thomas E. Donilon, a former State Department official and close Clinton ally, to be deputy national security adviser.

Kurt Campbell, who was the top East Asia official in the Clinton Pentagon, is expected to return to the defense department in another top post. Campbell, Donilon and Steinberg have worked together, and are considered close friends.

Susan E. Rice, a former assistant secretary of state and one of the original Obama foreign policy advisers, is expected to be chosen U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Interesting fascinating TIME article on how the Obama-transisitional Administration is planning with the Democratic Congress to get that economical stimulus package ready for Obama's pen on January 20.

That's right, hours after he is sworn in, he plans to sign it at the Capitol building. Forget his first 100 Days, how about his first 100 hours?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1862452-1,00.html

Oh and ABC News reports that Susan Rice will be US Ambassador to the UN.

Officials: Obama set to introduce Clinton
Move would turn once-bitter rivalry into a high-profile diplomatic union
The Associated Press
updated 12:32 p.m. ET, Sun., Nov. 30, 2008

A deal with Bill Clinton over his post-White House work helped clear the way for Hillary Rodham Clinton to join President-elect Barack Obama's national security team as secretary of state, reshaping a once-bitter rivalry into a high-profile strategic and diplomatic union.

Obama was to be joined by the New York senator at a Chicago news conference Monday, Democratic officials said, where he also planned to announce that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would remain in his job for a year or more and that retired Marine General James M. Jones would serve as national security adviser.

The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for the transition team.

Concessions by former President Clinton
To make it possible for his wife to become the top U.S. diplomat, the officials said, former President Clinton agreed:
# to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997 and all contributors going forward.
# to refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference.
# to cease holding CGI meetings overseas.
# to volunteer to step away from day-to-day management of the foundation while his wife is secretary of state.
# to submit his speaking schedule to review by the State Department and White House counsel.
# to submit any new sources of income to a similar ethical review.

Bill Clinton's business deals and global charitable endeavors had been expected to create problems for the former first lady's nomination. But in negotiations with the Obama transition team, the former president agreed to several measures designed to bring transparency to those activities.

"It's a big step," said Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who said he plans to vote to confirm Clinton.

The former president long had refused to disclose the identities of contributors to his foundation, saying many gave money on condition that they not be identified.

Putting together a 'team of rivals'
Lugar said there would still be "legitimate questions" raised about the former president's extensive international involvement. "I don't know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite measures up to this who has such cosmic ties, but ... hopefully, this team of rivals will work," Lugar said.

Obama's choice of Hillary Clinton was an extraordinary gesture of good will after a year in which the two rivals competed for the Democratic nomination in a long, bitter primary battle.

They clashed repeatedly on foreign affairs. Obama criticized Clinton for her vote to authorize the Iraq war. Clinton said Obama lacked the experience to be president and she chided him for saying he would meet with leaders of nations such as Iran and Cuba without conditions.

The bitterness began melting away in June after Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama. She went on to campaign for him in his general election contest against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Advisers said Obama had for several months envisioned Clinton as his top diplomat, and he invited her to Chicago to discuss the job just a week after the Nov. 4 election. The two met privately Nov. 13 in Obama's transition office in downtown Chicago.

Clinton was said to be interested and then to waver, concerned about relinquishing her Senate seat and the political independence it conferred. Those concerns were largely resolved after Obama assured her she would be able to choose a staff and have direct access to him, advisers said.

No leadership prospects in Senate
Remaining in the Senate also may not have been an attractive choice for Clinton. Despite her political celebrity, she is a relatively junior senator without prospects for a leadership position or committee chairmanship anytime soon.

Some Democrats and government insiders have questioned whether Clinton is too independent and politically ambitious to serve Obama as secretary of state. But a senior Obama adviser has said the president-elect had been enthusiastic about naming Clinton to the position from the start, believing she would bring instant stature and credibility to U.S. diplomatic relations and the advantages to her serving far outweigh potential downsides.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the Clintons will have to tread carefully to avoid the appearance of conflicts.

"The presumption will be that both Secretary of State Clinton and former President Clinton will be very judicious in what they take on, because there's a new dimension here," Reed said.

Lugar and Reed both spoke on ABC's "This Week."

It's official - Obama named Hillary Clinton as his choice to be the new Secretary of State.

She's a tough old bird and FWIW I think she'll do a good job in that position.

Robert Gates to remain Secretary of Defense; Eric Holder named as Attorney General; Governor Janet Napalitano named as head of Homeland Security; Susan Rice named as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; General James Jones named as National Security Advisor.

Obama has assembled some good, young talent and by surrounding himself with such knowledgable and capable people will enable himself to get off to a great start in office.

Poor Susan Rice could barely see over the podium.

Agreed this is a top flight team, and with all that's going on we are going to need them. So far so good for Obama.

The only issue I had with her "speech" was that she mentioned how it was the U.S. who started the United Nations... not a particularly smart political statement.

I missed most of what she said because I was on the phone.

SC, I think the U.S. pretty much did start the U.N. It was, as I recall FDR's idea. The Rockefellers donated the land where it sits in New York. The concept of the U.N. was to create a kind of world parliament which was to have powers much greater than the league of Nations. FDR, and the Brits believed that in such a parliament we could outmaneuver totalitarian regimes such as the USSR and get things done. OF course as soon as they crested the security council where the old USSR had a veto, the UN becme little more than a debating society.

Personally I think it is a great concept, but in truth no one is really going to give up sovereignty and come under the U.N.'s thumb. That said there is a window of opportunity for the N to become active in so called "failed states" and supposedly Rice is big on Genocide, hunger etc., and we could put some focus on Africa.

For rhetorical reasons, I think it might be in the U.S. and European's interests to start talking about sections of eastern Pakistan as a "failed state" to try to bring that government to heel and allow elite US forces to go in there and knock out some of the crazies holed up there.

It might also be useful to start to divide the Muslims into one camp that wants to educate their children and have a better world from the radicals who want to impose Sharia law on everyone. Its a long slog, but you gotta start with rhetoric to get anywhere.

"It is very difficult having a standup debate with you because you never take responsibility for any vote. It's just very difficult to get a straight answer."

-Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama


"Sometimes it's difficult to understand what Sen. Obama has said because as soon as he is confronted on it he says that's not what he meant."

- Hillary Clinton


“Shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public.”

- Hillary Clinton


"You represent change you can Xerox."

- Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama


She's right about change that can be Xeroxed :


Robert Gates was picked as Secretary of Defense; Eric Holder was named as Attorney General; Rahm Emanuel as Chief of staff; Hillary Clinton, secretary of state; and former energy secretary Bill Richardson is being considered as commerce secretary. Weren't these people referred to as "the Clinton era retreads?" :


"We need change from tired Washington insiders and Clinton-era retreads"

-Barack Obama during Democratic debates.

Give it up, Cardi. It's politics.

All I know is, things were pretty good during the "Clinton era". Or at least they seemed real good compared to the Bush error. Would you prefer he picked people without experience to lead his national security team? I wouldn't.

Don Cardi, Don Cardi, I understand how hard you are taking this election, but when you come to these boards you should understand what these pezzanovante say to one another in their campaigns has little to do with what they do when they get into office. It was not so long ago I racall the term "compassionate conservative" being bandied about by that Texas politician who you had in your pocket like so many nickels and dimes. You come here and ask for fair judgment on Obama, but he is not even sworn in yet so there can be no judgment. If you had come to here in friendship and respect we could reason together without having to broadcast to everyone what we are thinking. Please my friend, stop acting like a Hollywood finocchio who cries like a woman. You look terrible. I want you to eat. Get some rest. This Marine big shot who is the chief foreign policy advisor will give you some comfort.

[/quote]

Don Cardi, Don Cardi, I understand how hard you are taking this election, but when you come to these boards you should understand what these pezzanovante say to one another in their campaigns has little to do with what they do when they get into office. It was not so long ago I racall the term "compassionate conservative" being bandied about by that Texas politician who you had in your pocket like so many nickels and dimes. You come here and ask for fair judgment on Obama, but he is not even sworn in yet so there can be no judgment. If you had come to here in friendship and respect we could reason together without having to broadcast to everyone what we are thinking. Please my friend, stop acting like a Hollywood finocchio who cries like a woman. You look terrible. I want you to eat. Get some rest. This Marine big shot who is the chief foreign policy advisor will give you some comfort. [/quote]

"Let's hit 'em while we got the muscle."

Let's see, Clinton-era retreads, when there was low unemployment and prosperity, or 4 more years of policies similar to the current administration's failed ones?? Hmmmmm...OK!! I take the retreads!!!!

They are not "retreads" they were all young up and coming assistants. Its not like they are bringing Warren Christoher back.

Sec. Defense Gates a "retread"??
Former Marine Corps Commandant a "retread?"
Governor of Arizona (the next blue state) a "retread?"


P.S. That booming noise you hear is Rush Limbaugh's head exploding.

Of course not. And I really want him to be a successful President and sincerely hope that his policies and ideas do make things better for all. I do know that I would have felt a lot better had he picked an "experienced" person, perhaps someone like Senator John McCain, to serve as Secretary Of Defense.

You do have to admit Lou that it's really interesting, if not funny, that Obama built a campaign platform calling for "change" all through the democratic campaign and all through the presidential campaign.....and then goes and picks several former Clinton people to serve under him...including Hillary! What happened to all this "CHANGE" that he talked about for the last 9 months?


"We need change from tired Washington insiders and Clinton-era retreads"

-Barack Obama during Democratic debates. These are HIS words, not mine!







dontomasso, I said that I would listen to you because, I heard that you're a serious man, to be treated with respect.

But uh, I must say "no" to you -- and I'll give you my reasons. It's true, I have a lot of friends in politics, but they wouldn't be friendly very long if they knew that I supported Hillary Clinton for this position. Hillary is a dirty whoring power monger. It -- makes -- it doesn't make any difference to me who a man votes for, understand. But your party's pick is ah -- a little dangerous. I don't like Clinton's kind of people. I don't like to see her come out to represent this clean country with her horrible hair -- dressed up in those silk pantsuits - and try to pass herself off as decent a American. And -- the dishonest way she poses yourself. Her and her whole fucking family. We may be part of the same hypocrisy, but don't ever think that it applies to my family.




Hillary Clinton, and up and coming assistant?
Rahm Emanuel, and up and coming assitant?


The only positive out of Hillary being picked for this position is that she will be gone as the Senator of my state!




Again SB, President Elect Barack Obama's words....not mine. Perhaps you should e-mail HIM and ask HIM why he referred to them as "Clinton Era Retreads."





My point exactly!