President-elect Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination with the enthusiastic support of the left wing of his party, fueled by his vehement opposition to the decision to invade Iraq and by one of the most liberal voting records in the Senate.
Now, his reported selections for two of the major positions in his cabinet — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and Timothy J. Geithner as secretary of the Treasury — suggest that Mr. Obama is planning to govern from the center-right of his party, surrounding himself with pragmatists rather than ideologues.
The choices are as revealing of the new president as they are of his appointees — and suggest that, from its first days, an Obama White House will brim with big personalities and far more spirited debate than occurred among the largely like-minded advisers who populated President Bush's first term.
This is the direction, the approach, I expected from a President Barack Obama: single-mindedly, even selflessly, seeking the best executive and operational talent, the best organization possible, to share the challenge and the stage of leadership, regardless of their politics, personalities, or their prior relationships with him.
[T]he names racing through the ether in Washington about the choices to follow also suggest that Mr. Obama continues to place a premium on deep experience. He is widely reported to be considering asking Mr. Bush's defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, to stay on for a year; and he is thinking about Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander and Marine Corps commandant, for national security adviser, and placing Lawrence H. Summers, the former Treasury secretary whom Mr. Obama considered putting back in his old post, inside the White House as a senior economic adviser.
He appears to have the personal strength, confidence and ability to lead and manage this heady, consultative process, even with such an elite line-up of star-quality experts and leaders--including some strong egos and personalities. And he also appears to have the intelligence and wisdom to thereby find and promote the best answers. But he is also bringing in strong, proven talent to help him manage that process, as well. "That," suggests the Times, "explains Mr. Obama's first selection — Rahm Emanuel, another centrist Democrat and former member of the Clinton White House, as his chief of staff."
He has shown no reluctance to call on former adversaries within and without the Democratic Party, or Independents or Republicans, for that matter. But he will demand that they share his earnest, nonpartisan commitment to addressing successfully the extraordinary, daunting list of challenges that now face our country, including restoring our country to economic strength, our people to confidence and the better life, and our more consultative, respected leadership role in the world. Part of that approach is a function of the idealistic, but pragmatic team-oriented side of his nature, and his priority on talent. But there are also reasons related to our singularly difficult times and circumstances:
The reason, several of Mr. Obama's transition team members say, is that they believe that the new administration will have no time for a learning curve. With the country facing a deep recession or worse, global market turmoil, chaos in Pakistan and a worsening war in Afghanistan, "there's going to be no time for experimentation," a member of the Obama foreign policy team said.
He will doubtless make mistakes. It is inevitable. But it will not be for failure to employ and consult the best minds, the most experienced professionals, and yes, the wisest politicians--nor for a lack of willingness to make tough decisions and work hard and wisely to carry them out . In point of fact, I have concerns about his approach to bailing out the Big 3 auto makers outside the bankruptcy process, as I have written, but there may be considerations I am not privy to--and regardless, I do not expect to agree with everything he does. I will hope that it is nonetheless successful, and be humbly quite pleased if it is. I am just grateful to have a person of his talent, energy, vision and character at the wheel as we navigate these most dangerous waters.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27849923/
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