Thanks, George
Obama, acknowledging his debt of gratitude to George Bush, will keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense. Politico:
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has agreed to stay on under President-elect Barack Obama, according to officials in both parties. Obama plans to announce a national-security team early next week that includes Gates at the Pentagon and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as secretary of state, officials said.
…
The team gives Obama experience in the bureaucracy and credibility with the military, although it could lead to criticism from his party’s left wing that the lineup is more hawkish and less revolutionary than his supporters expected.
David Axelrod, the incoming White House senior adviser, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”: “The president-elect was clear throughout the campaign that when he became president, that he was going to give the secretary of defense a new mission, and that mission was going to be to wind down our involvement. Nothing has changed.”
Exactly. Nothing at all. It’s been looking up for some time, ever since George Bush told Congress, Obama etal to get stuffed on surrender, and apparently, they’ve now entirely capitulated. Thanks to Bush, Obama can fulfill his campaign promise, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, without precipitating a disaster. Who better to carry this forward but the people who got us to this point? A Saddam-free U.S.-allied Iraq, with al-Qaeda on the run, and the same counterinsurgency artiste who ran them out of Iraq now free to go to work on Afghanistan. Stay the course, and try not to screw up Iran, Obama, everything will be good. Just like I told you.
But is it really necessary to rub it in? … Yeah, I think so:
Malkin makes an unkind “four more years” observation.
Hot Air, cruelly, “Hope, not change.”
Gateway, bluntly, Obama = Bush’s Third Term.
Reynolds, full of wonder, when losing feels like winning.
Surber, cleverly, Obama shows Lefties the Gates.
It’s not all good news. DirectorBlue with a roundup on Obama and … The Best. Congress. Ever.
Iowahawk, meanwhile, Obama Appoints Bill Clinton to Presidential Post.
OK, some lefties. TalkLeft doesn’t mind Gates but is worried the message will be surrender enthusiasts can’t do defense. At least I think that’s what TL is saying. TL belabors the point: “I have no obvious eligible candidates for the job.”
The Swamp offers some blah blah blah on a widely respected manager, but avoids any touchy subjects. Like the fact that Obama apparently is giving up on surrender.
Here’s a good one. Newshogger lauds the “wise move.”
Obama need to concentrate on reinventing the economy. He needs experienced and respected people to handle the Pentagon and extracting us for the quagmire that is Iraq. I suspect theat Gates has more in common with with Obama than he did with the administration of George W. Bush. I suspect that he also might relish putting one General Petreaus in his place – remind him he is a general and not a policy maker.
Where better to find experienced and respected people than the Bush admin? Or maybe the Clinton one. But I get it. Obama isn’t tapping the Bush admin, Bush was anticipating the Obama one … George helpfully hired a guy two years ago who could manage Obama’s pullout, and now that Gates is free … free … of the Bushitlerites, he will rein in that loose cannon Petraeus who has been wallowing in the quagmire. Sure. That all makes sense.
Oh, cruel world. via Small Dead Animals, Noam Chomsky’s sense of betrayal.
Welcome, Instapundit, Gateway, SDA, etal. Always good to see you. Come on in. Ever get that crazy feeling like you’re the star of your own soap opera? Just because you’re not on TV doesn’t mean you’re not in production. Here’s a sitcom script for you: Medical supply salesman/fed wannabe flashes his assistant harbormaster badge, claims he’s an armed Homeland Security agent and is whisked around TSA onto a plane where the flight crew helpfully points out the air marshals and lets him into the cockpit. Hilarity ensues.
Topics: Obama
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 7:55 pm Comments (10) on Tuesday, November 25, 2008
10 Responses to “Thanks, George”
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November 25th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden: Who better but the people who got us to this point? A Saddam-free U.S.-allied Iraq, with al-Qaeda on the run, and the same counterinsurgency artiste now free to go to work on Afghanistan. Stay the course, and try not to screw up Iran, Obama, everything will be good. Just like I told you. [...]
November 25th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
We’ll see.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
[...] Update again: A roundup. [...]
November 26th, 2008 at 1:48 am
[...] –Jules Crittenden: Obama, acknowledging his debt of gratitude to George Bush, will keep Robert Gates on as Secretary of Defense…. Who better to carry this forward but the people who got us to this point? A Saddam-free U.S.-allied Iraq, with al-Qaeda on the run, and the same counterinsurgency artiste who ran them out of Iraq now free to go to work on Afghanistan. Stay the course, and try not to screw up Iran, Obama, everything will be good. Just like I told you. [...]
November 26th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Making Hillary SoS would violate the Constitution says Eugene Volokh.
November 26th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Is Obama Head Faking Right, While Driving Left? http://www.legalinsurrection.com
November 26th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Guess The Obama can’t get in anywhere else to surrender to anyone else, so he’s settling for surrendering to Bush.
Good practice for the Grand March.
November 26th, 2008 at 11:49 am
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 11/26/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Um, why would Rebublicans let alone conservatives, want another 4 years of Bush?
November 27th, 2008 at 3:26 am
Um, why would Republicans let alone conservatives, want another four years of Clinton?
BTW, Bush had the intestinal fortitude to go after the folks who killed those 3000 non-people that lived in that place that you want to destroy so that one day you can call it your country.