Obama's CabinetFollow

I think people need to hold their nose and deal with the bailouts. If major banks and the automotive industry goes under, we can count on at least 3-4% more unemployment (which will have a ripple effect through the rest of the economy) and enough economic collapse to trigger a major depression. This whole restructuring of the economy should have taken place in 1999. We're not here right now. Our economy is in a survival mode. Restructure when the economy is not ******* And I'm about self-interest. If the banks and the auto industry go down, we all go down. We're all ******* We can be self-righteous as we want and it doesn't mean jack ****.

This is the result of 30 years of supply side economics. It'll take a lot to repair this mistake.

This.

Edited, Nov 21st 2008 2:23pm by Mindel

He promised to "reach across the aisle." Arguably, he's reaching across some aisles here. That would be a nice change.

Jones has been critical of Pres Bush's policies. Friends with John McCain? So what. Wasn't it the Dems who decried guilt by association with respect to some of Mr Obama's friends?

Story on Jones:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5208597.ece



Edited, Nov 21st 2008 2:27pm by Ahkuraj

This just makes me laugh. What the fUck does this even mean? That he's Jewish and smarter than you? That hardly disqualifies him, frankly.

Look, here's the thing. Obama is the visionary. He sets the tone and he sets the goals and then everyone digs in to see how feasible they are and whether they might actually work and what it's going to take and whether it's worth spending the political capital. He has to delegate **** or nothing gets done.

You don't delegate to people you pulled in off the street. Not at the top levels. Andrew Jackson tried that, and every President since then has had ample opportunity to learn from his mistakes. You delegate tasks out to people who can actually get **** done. That means, yes, experienced pols - "insiders" or whatever you want to call them. That's not elitist; that's just smart.

Agreed, good point. I'm just a bit nervous based on his decisions so far, but its fair to point out that no one has had a chance to enact policy at this point.



You mean the same Andrew Jackson who was the last President to pay off the national debt and who called the banking cartels who formed the Federal Reserve a "hydra-headed monster eating the flesh of the common man." Yeah, he was one of the greatest Presidents in history and someone from whom we could all learn a lot.



I'm not talking about de-regulation. This is a result of modern money mechanics and a credit based economy. We create fake money digitally that never actually exists and then are surprised when it turns out the money doesn't exist. Do you know what the modern US dollar is based on? Do you know how money is created?

If we keep dumping money into a broken system it will still be broken. I'm not about to give my money to the same criminals that have been controlling the economies of the world for centuries.

Huh?

No, I'm nepotism.

You know who was a really prime example of nepotism in action?

Andrew Jackson.

What fringe party is championing Andrew Jackson? Is there some party that is demanding we go back to the gold standard and exchange gold coins instead of paper money?

Not just Jewish, Joph.

Zionist.

I was making a joke about the Coinage Act which was a half-baked plan to begin with. I wasn't arguing for or against fiat currency.



Edited, Nov 21st 2008 1:54pm by baelnic

You know who was a really prime example of nepotism in action?

Andrew Jackson.

We have to stop reading the same books. For instance, I insist you not read Anathem until at least March when I've had time to get through it.


Banking bailout - terrible idea, throwing gasoline onto a fire to reduce the flames? how about we restructure our economy to remove ourselves from perpetual debt to the Federal Reserve?

You don't understand Macroeconomics. Or, to be massively generous, you don't understand post Breton Woods credit markets.


Auto bailout - almost as bad as the banks


You don't understand manufacturing.


Chief of Staff (Emanuel) - another elite zionist in a position of power, great..


His middle name is Isreal. Really, it is.


Health and Human Services (Daschle) - not a bad choice but I would have preferred Howard Dean


Dean would have been an abysmal choice if you want progress on healthcare. Tommy D, on the other hand is ideal. He's also a headsplitter. It's clear Obama is determined to keep my wing of the party in line with his plans to govern as a relative centrist. Keep in mind Daschele's entire Senate staff essentially became Obama's Senate staff and served him very well there. They have an excellent working relationship.


Homeland Security (Napolito) - not a bad choice if we lived in a vaccuum, but if Napolito leaves office then the extremely corrupt right-wing Sec. of State Jan Brewer would become Governor of Arizona which would be a complete disaster


This is largely a meaningless position. It seems as if it should be one of great power and importance, but unlike State where the Secratery personally impacts things frequently, at HS the bottom up bureaucracy essentially runs EVERYTHING.


Attorney General (Holder) - a political insider with close ties to corrupt politicians, is this the person that will stand up to and prosecute special interests?


Not thrilled with Holder, either. He's a decent lawyer, clearly, but he seems to just be a vessel for Obama to manage DoJ through. Which is fine, although a little disconcerting.


Speculative:
Sec. of State (Clinton) - atrocious


I'm not sure where this sentiment comes from. From a Machevelian standpoint it's brilliant. From a foreign relations standpoint, the Clintons are widely respected. I'd have preferred Kerry, but there are obvious reasons that would haven't worked out well. I'm sure there was some sentiment for Beardy, but he's much better at Commerce.


Sec. of Defense (Gates) - Bush leftovers


Gates is excellent. I know I present myself as an expert on everything, but on this I really am. Gates is the best I've ever seen at running DoD. Which is the job, right? Not to be a good soundbite, or a military genius.



NS Advisor (Jones) - military insider who is friends with John McCain...why not Susan Rice??


Why not Sam Nunn?


So, is this just a temporary transition team before Obama really buckles down and starts changing things, or is this just more of the same status quo, the rich ruling elite that has been in power since the beginning of history? What do you think?


What the fuck did you think was going to happen, sucker? The Great Leap Forward still isn't coming.

Typically I'd wait 'til it's out in paperback, but Stephenson is a particular weakness of mine. I'm not sure I can promise this.