Obama keeps Bush’s Defense Secretary
Hey, remember that campaign line Barack Obama used incessantly throughout the campaign — you know, the one deriding McCain as a Bush clone and mocking a McCain win as “four more years of Bush?”
You remember, right?
The One: “I can take 4 more weeks of McCain’s attacks, but America can’t take 4 more years of failed McCainBush” policies!
Well, ummmm, ahhh, never mind.
Now, it looks like continuity is not such an evil thing. Obama’s keeping on Bush’s SecDef, Robert Gates.
President-elect Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates in that job for at least a year, according to an official familiar the two men’s discussions.
Obama is expected to announce the selection of Gates and other members of a national security brain trust next week. Gates has served as President George W. Bush’s defense chief for two years.
Gates, a moderate with long-standing ties to Republican administrations and the Bush family, would fulfill an Obama pledge to include a Republican in his Cabinet.
Retaining Gates provides stability for a stretched military fighting two wars during the turbulent changeover in administrations. Gates once said it was inconceivable that he would stay on past the close of Bush’s term on Jan. 20.
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Categories: Barack Obama,War
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There’s nothing wrong with recognizing competence.
Watching as the nutroots go (more) insane will make this decision even better.
Oh, and it looks like Obama is a new convert to “staying the course”!
Good decision.
Ever notice how many Democrat Presidents pick Republuicans for SECDEF?
Obama: “Well, I was never really married to the concept of Hope and Change.’
So do you think that this is Obama’s way of expressing his belief that the Defense Department is being competently run?
I can already hear heads exploding at HuffPuff, DemoUnderwear and KosRomperRumors. Kinda sounds like Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. KaBOOM!
Gee…it appear as though Bush’s policies in Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t so bad after all. Just think, the guy who replaced Rumsfeld is now going to be a member of Obama’s Cabinet. Gee…if that isn’t flinging poop right into folks like Code Pink and such’s eyes I don’t know what is.
Obama clearly looks and acts as a neophyte…
Barack H. Obama is such a phony. I guess those daily security briefings have convinced that empty suit that our Great Country is still at risk of attack by those who have sworn to destroy us.
Gates is good. Continuity is good.
I think this is Obama’s way of saying he thinks Gates is competent in his role.
You can have an awesome GM and the team can still suck if the owner is an incompetent buffoon.
So you think the military sucks????
So it’s official – Obama was wrong on the surge.
Looks like the only change we are going to get is the demographic of the country with a huge addiction of Democrat voters. Welcome our new Mexican and Central American American citizens. We trust that you all will adopt our culture and learn our language. Oh, and now that you are citizens I know you will stop drinking and driving, beating your wives and children and will say no to gang activities. sarc…with a hearty scream.
But this could be a devious move by Obama, Fireman – in 4 years he run against “the last four years of failed Bush policy” all over again! (“This isn’t the Sec. of Defense I knew”)
All of his picks clearly demonstrate something we have known all along re:Obama’s extreme inexperience – he doesn’t have a circle of his own from which to draw talent.
Obama keeping on Gates raises additional questions about the October deployment of an Army Unit “for Domestic Operations”
My comments on this.
Well that sure is change, just when you need it.
This seems clearly illegal.
Perhaps, what this actually means is that Gates is incompetent?
I agree. Gates is the awesome GM and Obama is the incompetent buffoon.
It is interesting that the liberals now think a Bush appointment is good because Obama is willling to keep him on. I wonder how the liberals would react if Obama chose John Ashcroft to be his Attorney General? The cult members would probably say Ashcroft would be “interim.” The wack-a-doodles would say it’s better to keep your enemies close.
Yeah, FDR had a Republican SecState, SecWar, and SecNav. FDR knew the democrats were too incompetent to hold those positions in time of war.
hope and change = more of the same
but since bush is a big-gov socialist…just like obama
I swear it seems like everyone who goes to DC is replaced by a POD, like invasion of the body snatcher…
BTW: I saw the president of argentina has an infrastructure megaplan…on drudge….the president of argentina is HOT..wow… I’d vote for her!!
It sure took a beating under Carter, Clinton and will under Obama.
The greatest military we ever had was gutted by Clinton and now Obama and Congressional Democrats have already said they will do the same.
The one over riding purpose of the Federal Government is Continental defense but these clowns want to out source that to the UN. You know, those cartoon characters in Rawanda who took copies notes.
—
Is NOW the time for the Second American Revolution?
I would too. He knows whats going on in Iraq and if Obama changed the SOD before the end of the war, then if the war didn’t end how it is written down, then it would be blamed on the SOD he chose. It’s called politics.
Change we can believe it!
He’s changing a bunch of Washington insiders for a bunch of loser Washington insiders.
Can’t wait for him to appoint Susan McDougal to Secretary Of Banking and Real Estate
That came out wrong.
Well, at least 40% of our state’s prison population won’t be illegal anymore.
Actually after the unmitigated disaster that was Gonzalez, I would say many liberals have a somewhat grudging appreciation for Ashcroft.
Like Obama, your true thoughts come out in the unscripted comments.
You are right. I totally hate the military. You nailed me.
Remember, Obama is not in favor of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, so obviously he must’ve asked Gates and now has told us.
I’t's not exactly a rare opinion on the left.
I’m actually glad Obama did this, although it really does expose the fact that all of that “change” BS was just a bunch of gas to get elected. Podesta and Rahmbo are Clinton retreads, and you have a Clinton herself dictating foreign policy at Foggy Bottom. If I was a lib, I don’t know how you get jazzed about all this. Simply saying, “Well, he’s just surrounding himself with competent people who have been there before …” Sorry, that just sounds like a cop-out and covering your tracks on admitting how inexperienced Obama really is. What you end up getting is the “experienced” retreads leading the rookie around by his nose. There’s little indication Obama will be able to buck the advice of his own advisors, and given the fact that he has not had to compromise or persuade other Senators in any tough legislative effort in the Senate, I don’t have faith he’ll be able to impose his own agenda on Congress; indeed, I think it’ll be Reid and Pelosi driving the bus instead. Plus, I have yet to hear an idea, both during his campaign and this short President-elect period, that seems inspiring and different from what has come before.
Fixed.
I know, I know, never gonna happen, but you do have a sense of humor, chaps.
Here’s the link to the actual Army Times article.
Egh, reads better as “will be Obama,” but you get the drift.
Pill, I tend to dismiss such things since there’s always been “black helicopter/martial law” talk every Presidential election year for some time now.
But on the other hand, you do have people rioting in Iceland over it’s finacial crisis. Me, I’d wait til at least Spring before taking to the streets there!
Oh, and Holder is definitely going to be an improvement. Right. Although you do have a point of sorts. He may end up creating a strange new respect for Janet Reno….
Funny, because he failed to recognize while he was running for president. I thought he said McCain/Bush FAILED policies. Really?
The only thing that failed is congress from 2006 onward. Everything else before that wasn’t failing. In fact, we were doing pretty well.
Gates is Obama’s best pick by far; The entire economic team he has assembled has their fingerprints all over the root causes for this bailout disaster; Holder is Mr. Sept. 10th; Napolitano is an advocate for illegal immigration; Hillary will ensure the destruction of Israel; Richardson is just taking up space; If he sticks with Gen. Petraeus, he will concede to the one and only item McCain has been right on; Since he’s bringing on board so many Clinton retreads, is it possible we’ll see Monica back on the scene?
BJC, Your wish has come true.
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s3i44015
Um. This looks like another sign that Obama isn’t the super-radical we’ve feared, he’s just young and inexperienced. His cabinet selections make it, unfortunately, hard to call him incompetent.
We gotta face the fact that the US isn’t a free market republic anymore. We are a socialist democratic State and we have been for awhile. The best we can hope for is decent central planning that leaves some room for individual wealth creation.
This man may not be terribly worse than the administration before him.
Rocky R,
The Pessimists Club is looking for a few good men.
If it is so important to keep the Secretary of Defense in this time of vulnerability, maybe we should also keep the Commander in Chief. Just sayin …
Something tells me the national security briefing he received woke him up a bit.
Reality check……. big time.
More like on-the-job training.
Except this was being discussed and floated well before Obama received his first security briefing.
I suspect we just really fundamentally disagree on this.
Damn, I thought I was being optimistic!
Please do tell. Economically, we were doing very well. Went from a company of 4 people in 2000 to 24 today. We also provide full benefits. Our home value went up pretty nicely, stock market was doing very well also.
Oh, and one more thing. We didn’t have any terror attacks on our soil since 9/11.
So, tell me, what exactly was horrible?
The Iraq war? That’s a matter of fact, not opinion. Sorry, but we are better off without Saddam.
He’d better keep Gates if he wants to keep is arse out of a sling…besides, it’s almost over and once we close the chapter on the Iraq book, Gates will be toast.
Karl Rove called this a couple of weeks ago on Hannity & Colmes. He stated that when Obama started to get the daily briefings, he would change some of his tune about National Security matters and better understand the decisions that are made by the Bush people. Maybe there is a little hope of sanity in the coming 4 years.
I’m gonna lock myself in the bathroom and assume the fetal position.
Was this the best silver lining you could give me at the end of the day? ! !
These people do not check your party affiliation before they slit your throat. What is criminal was Reid and Pelosi, etc who knew the facts their Bush Lied “bolshoi” which divided us on an issue we should never be divided on and accounted for probabaly half our battle casualties in Iraq.
All the Dems needed to do was say, “We support the President on the war” and attacked him on everything else. BUT when George Soros is the puppetmaster the first things required of you are your integrity and your soul. So the Dems dutifully did as their sugar daddy told them.
Flyoverman:
Hahaha! Well… we gotta work with what we have, now. Look, I’d love to see a sharp turn to the right – small government, shrinking deficits, shrinking debt, deregulation, less interference, restriction/abolition of abortion, privatization, etc., etc.
It ain’t happenin’ right now. Neither of the two political parties capable of grabbing power are going to take us back to a free market economy and society. Both parties are socialist in their economic ideologies. They (Rips and Dims) are two shades of gray that grow increasingly indistinguishable.
You think we’re going to somehow overthrow this system of ours? Fat chance. It’s too powerful. The modern, federal government is well beyond the reach of about anything short of a complete societal meltdown (e.g., our near economic collapse we’ve been watching this past month). We are a loooong way from that. A less powerful US central government did little more than flinch during the 1960s… perhaps the most civil unrest we’ve seen since the 1860s?
So, yeah. If Obama is no worse than the Bush administration, he’ll keep the bubble inflated at the expense of our foreign lenders, he’ll keep any attackers at bay, and he’ll do no more damage to our civil liberties than have the TSA or domestic espionage under Bushy. That would at least be a draw, which, right now, looks pretty optimistic to me.
Of course, you’re talking to a guy who was seriously worried about a complete collapse of the US Dollar about a week ago. Status quo looks pretty good right now!
Woow… I say bravo!
We shouldn’t pick on him for doing the right thing.
I dont’ think we’re picking on him, but it does show how inexperienced he really is.
Agreed Rocky. I still believe these two things:
1) A journey starts with the willingness to take a step… then another and another…and on and on and on..
2) An ant can eat an elephant, if he does it one bite at a time.
I doubt we will see “The Promised Land” of the kind of government we want. However, for our kids sake we can start the process and maybe from a better place we can see our kids inheriting it.
The way to beat this system is to consolidate all coservative factions into a conservative political party. There are more than enough conservatives to pull it off. The tough part will be getting Libertarians to swallow their pride and sign on. Same for conservative Republicans, sad to say. Hawk’s recent post is all the proof I need of that.
RWR
http://www.rightwingrocker.com
http://www.federalistpartyblog.blogspot.com
Teary-eyed communists cheer Obama victory
BlameAmericaLast – No argument there. He’s frighteningly inexperienced. But I have to give him credit for hanging on to Gates.
It’s hard to believe that Robert Gates is agreeing to work for someone as incompetent, Marxist, socialist, war hater, America hater, empty suit, buffoon as Obama. You people are ridiculous.
imjustsaying – And who would you rather see in the position? I’m grateful Gates is agreeing. I’d rather see him stay on with his knowledge and experience than have OScary pick someone who is Marxist, Socialist, War Hater, America Hater, Emty Suit, Buffoon as Obama!
Q: What do ol’ Bob Gates and Barry Obama have in common?
A: Desire for a “civilian national security force.”
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=72659
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Obama pick Gates to look good, then totally ignore him for the next 4 years, or until Gates resigns in disgust. It would be a political move that would be typical of him.
Urkel sez:”Here’s something else I know nothing about and totally unqualified to handle , so my advisers told me to keep this guy”
So, now you libs are concerned with the outcome of the war? Puhleeze. Support our troops, bring them home was the mantra along with a whole host of others. It’d be funny if it weren’t so gosh darn shameful.
It’s just as easily conceivable that Gates believes he is the best man for the position and would rather ensure that America and her citizens are safe. The fact that he is working under the administration of the Empty Suit is of a lower priority. Just sayin’….
So going by the logic of the MSM, since Obama is already the greatest POTUS of all time, Bush would (by using the same logic) be the second greatest POTUS of all time, because right now I REALLY can’t disinguish the two.
That’s true, there isn’t. And if it turns out that Obama has pulled the mother of all bait&switch jobs on the nutroots and is genuinely going to lead as a centrist then I will be overjoyed to have been wrong about him.
But…
The snarkiness here is coming from the fact that today Obama is “recognizing competence” when just a few weeks ago all these competant people were either stupid, evil or some combination of the two. What amuses us is that Obama feels no obligation to even pay lip service to his central campaign promise.
And I think you know that, Chap, even if you can’t bring yourself to admit it.
How did the old Who song go — “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
HOPE!
CHANGE!
CLINTON (and Bush) RETREADS!
It’s so funny to see this happening. A guy runs one way to get the nomination, slides a little center to get the electorial college win, and then does whatever the heck he wants in terms of cabinet and “promises” in the run-up to being sworn in.
If recent history teaches us anything, when these guys do this, it does not provide a window to how they will lead.
I want a president to who challenges the country and does not lead by sticking his wet finger in the wind.
We haven’t had one in a very long time.
On November 25th, 2008 at 10:54 pm, chapoutier said:
So you agree, Obama exploited the war and our soldiers for political purposes? I mean, if the above is your assessment, then what other explanation can there be?
You guys are pathetic! Obama sold you out/played on your anti-war stance for your vote, and now you can’t admit it!
Gates and Bush are far from being cut from the same cloth. Gates was the man Bush picked to placate the Democratic. He also supports direct diplomacy with Iran, making him a big “change” from the last eight years.
What? Change? I would say putting competence above cronyism (as is the case with Gates) is pretty good change.
And I ALWAYS thought Obama would govern more as a centrist.
I do not see how you get to that conclusion at all.
I have to say, I find that reference to an active duty Army unit assigned to civilian enforcement a bit disturbing…thanks for the link ITookTheRedPill…
Trust me, it’s there.
“Hope and change”
HA HA HA HO HO HO HE HE HE!!!!!!
Then humor me and spell it out.
It’s a triumvirate presidency! The only way he can govern from the middle is to shed himself of Pelosi and Reid, i.e., the Democrat majorities; until then, he’s a puppet for whatever any loudmouth liberal congressman-/Senator wants.
Community services at your service./ sarc
3 days ago, Gates was a war criminal that needed to be draged before the hauge. Now, he is golden because he was touched by the ONE. The spin on this is going to be neck snapping.
Oh and chap, us in the military don’t like you icelanders either. FISH MUNCHER!!!!
Not if you consider what would have happened if the ONE had lost.
I have never, never seen any sort of accusation about Gates from anyone with a shred of credibility, and certainly not anyone in Obama’s circle.
That is not to say everyone likes Gates or is happy with the decision.
CHAP, So I didn’t hear for the last 8 years that every bush appointee was bad? Please.
Not from Obama and not from anyone reasonable.
And again,saying he is a bad SecDef is a bit different thing than saying he is a war criminal.
Words, just words…
AH -HUH, sorry, not buying it. I have seen far too much of it in the last 8 years to believe you chap.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Gates was confirmed 95-2, and the only dissenters were Republicans. He’s a favorite of the left. (He had us at “we’re losing the war.”)
RSS, Sure…
On November 26th, 2008 at 9:35 am, sonofdy said:
Right!
And I thought President Obamapelosireid’s first priority was to get us out of Iraq and close Gitmo – has he/they set the date for that yet?
Has he announced when Gen. Patraeus will be relieved of command, a.k.a., unceremoniously fired?
And when Obamapelosireid removes our troops to the outskirts of Iraq – that indeterminable “border region” he and the Democrats always referred to in the campaign but never defined – has he/they said how many Iraqi citizens will have to be slaughtered before we reenter? I mean, is there a threshold or baseline number?
Sure he is, RSS, but only since Obama won! Had he & the Democrats deservedly lost, Gates would still be a pariah to them.
I understand one of his new economic advisors is a tax cutter, too. I guess it’s fortunate for us that Obummer is a liar. He apparently just said all that “wealth redistribution” and “close Gitmo” stuff to get the votes of the fringe Left.
Obama didn’t get me with his anti war nonsense. He got the crazy left. Kind of like the crazy right who thinks it was God’s desire to free the Iraqis from tyranny. Well then we should also be freeing the Haitians who are close to our border. Any disagreement with that?
I’m sorry, I missed the reports that Haiti had violated multiple UN Security Council Resolution, was gassing its own citizens, funding terrorism, had rape rooms, and was putting people through wood chippers. Do you have a link?
Adviser: Gates Could Stay At Pentagon If Obama Wins
Dated October 2, 2008.
Read the HuffPo comments:
We like him. Always have.
Sure RSS, SURE… right… what ever
Oh well, if the ever veracious crowd at Huff’nPuff previously endorsed Gates who am I to question their unyielding support!
After all, I don’t want to see them forced to defend Obama’s third war in Iraq, when the whole thing could have been avoided by actually having experienced people make real decisions about US military policy.