Heck of a Job
One of the issues on which John McCain has allegedly broken with George W. Bush is the latter’s handling of Hurricane Katrina. Basically, things started when Bush appointed a bunch of incompetent people and McCain raised no objections to this. Then the hurricane hit, while Bush and McCain were hanging out together at a birthday party in Arizona. Then there was all this tragic loss and life and destruction of property. Then people got very upset. Then McCain criticized Bush. And then when congress tried to investigate what happened, he voted against it. But then, later, when trying to claim independence from Bush he lied and said he had supported ever investigation.
So the difference is clear. Meanwhile, Jo Becker, Peter S. Goodman, and Michael Powell report on Sarah Palin’s approach to governance:
So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.
Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.
Needless to say, this is where Michael Browns come from. Not only the cronyism of Palin’s approach to running the state of Alaska, but the nonchalance with which John McCain chooses his subordinates. Is arguably a maverick? Check. Social conservatives like her? Check. Let’s roll. Nevermind questions about her suitability for office or ability to contribute constructively to an organization. And of course what you see once you’re staffing the executive branch is that you can’t actually fill thousands of jobs with your own cronies. Friends of friends who you don’t even know anything about. Unless, that is, you’re careful and make sure to staff the top ranks of your administration with people of integrity who you’re confident will make responsible hiring decisions.
35 Responses to “Heck of a Job”
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September 14th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Historically, oil wealth and political cronyism have been a recipe for success in many parts of the world. Is Wasilla just Alaska’s Tikrit?
September 14th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I think that the key takeaway point of today’s New York Times and Washington Post articles on Palin’s management style is that cronyism, secrecy, loyalty tests, and vendettas against those viewed as against her were at the core. As you note, this style of governing is a carbon copy of what we have seen for 8 years with Cheney-Bush. So what is being changed with McCain-Palin? We know it is not the policies and it is not the governing style either.
September 14th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Here’s a little blog fodder:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/sarahpalin/2827217/Neoconservatives-plan-Project-Sarah-Pain-to-shape-future-American-foreign-policy.html
The telegraph is reporting that the neocon’s selected Palin in ‘07 to be the next village idiot.
September 14th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
That video of McCain lying about supporting any investigation into Hurricane Katrina is very very powerful now that it has been pounded home how much of a liar he is. It so perfectly illustrates the principle that if McCain’s lips are moving, he is lying.
I also thought it was hilarious that they hadn’t even asked why he did not support any hurricane relief but he jumped right in to defend himself anyway. Lying all the way.
September 14th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Great post. This argument — who would you rather have in charge of hiring 5-10K employees to work in the executive branch of the US government? — has been pretty successful with my over educated right winger pals.
September 14th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I thought the Times story was awfully thin, but that aside, it would’ve been interesting if they had followed up on Ms. Havemeister and done some reporting as to her competence or lack thereof. For all we know she’s a great agriculture commissioner.
September 14th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
In fairness to Franci, who among us doesn’t love cows?
September 14th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Asher and Tom totally miss the point. Franci was just one of 5 high school classmates hired by Gov. Palin for jobs that paid higher than they had been making in the private sector. The point is that this could not have been an honest effort to hire the most qualified persons for the job. What are the odds that for 5 separate jobs, the most qualified hires all happened to be classmates of Ms. Palin. I would say one million to one if not worse. She hired cronys, lap dogs, who would owe her something and defend her at all costs. Sounds like Miers, Gonzo, and others…
September 14th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I wonder what MattY’ says about this. (For those who don’t know, MattY’ – aka “MattY prime” – is the intellectually honest counterpart to MattY).
I’ll bet if MattY’ had a blog, he’d assuredly realize that the NYT might not be telling us all there is. For instance, Havemeister might have other qualifications and there might be more involved in the whole issue. MattY’ is intellectually honest enough to realize that the NYT isn’t a very credible source.
Maybe The Atlantic could hire MattY’ now that MattY is here.
September 14th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I would say one million to one if not worse.
Probably closer to 670,000-5.
September 14th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
In case you wonder about the other classmates hired:
That Wasilla High School had one hell of an elite class the year Ms Palin graduated, the best talent state-wide today!
September 14th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
People probably give McCain too much credit because he’s an old man, at the same time having a good job instead of being a rummy living in the gutter.
People just have to think of him as their old lying uncle, and they’ll break through the fabricated image surrounding him. It’s certainly possible to be old and successful and still be a totally horrible person, but people seem to sometimes forget it.
September 14th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I think this is about par for the course for Republican Governors. I survived 4 years of working under Ehrlich appointees here in Maryland. They were all well-connected, and very well meaning, but who for the most part did not have much experience in management or leadership, let alone effective government. O’Malley’s cabinet and other appointees is the polar opposite, bringing years of very relevant experience to the agencies. It’s almost like the Democrats WANT government to actually work well.
September 14th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Unfortunately, most people don’t really understand Bush’s failure in regard to Katrina. At a time when strong leadership from the President was badly needed we got Bush reciting platitudes. He should have been knocking heads together and telling Nagin, Blanco and FEMA to “get ‘er done.” Instead, his involvement extended no further than regular briefings from the nothing-but-good-news advisers he has surrounded himself with. The prospect of another four years of an administration more determined to reform government than to run it is chilling.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Archaeologist Says:
September 14th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Asher and Tom totally miss the point.
I was being sarcastic.
September 15th, 2008 at 2:03 am
That NY Times article this morning was a terrific and terrifying glimpse into the mind of potentially G W Bush IIa
Also, Craigslist founder, Craig Newmark, recently wrote about this site on the Huffington Post. I thought it sounded like a great fusion of politics and technology – and worth passing along:
http://ObamaTravel.org — real grassroots democracy
“Hey, this is a good example of genuine grassroots democracy:
http://ObamaTravel.org is a platform that connects volunteers who want to travel to a swing state with financial sponsors and swing state host families. It’s sort of a political hybrid of craigslist and Team-in-Training – volunteers post profiles and solicit sponsorship from their family and friends. Sponsors can see their donations in action by following the activities of their volunteers.
… and let’s remember that “community organizing” is pure grassroots democracy.”
September 15th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Somehow this brings to mind Napoleon making his relatives monarchs of various European countries, though come to think of it that didn’t work out too well either.
September 15th, 2008 at 7:05 am
We need people of high moral character and ethics and who are truly concerned about the People and not the dirty political maneuvering and the sport of it all.
September 15th, 2008 at 9:57 am
WRT # 18 – We would need a different selection process. The system in place combines formal and informal requirements for high office that are perfectly calibrated to select for dirty political maneuvering and the sport of it all. High moral character and ethics are pretty much disqualifying.
September 15th, 2008 at 11:15 am
This could resonate with farmers. My wife is from North Dakota. The farmers there are certainly not pointy-headed intellectual elitists, but they still respect the value of expertise, at least when it comes to running a Department of Agriculture. To these guys, it should be a no-brainer that the person who runs a Department of Agriculture should have some experience with agriculture or even some narrow experience running a farm. A mere “love of cows” would set off these guys’ B.S. detectors in a heartbeat.
September 15th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Don’t you think the Times piece would have been more effective if they had then shown how any of Gov. Palin’s appointees had screwed up. Since they didn’t, I wonder if that means that her appointees are actually doing a good job?
My mayor appoints cronies to positions all the time. Some have been quite good, and some not. The ones that have failed in thier appointed positions have been eventually replaced, due to the hue and cry of the public demanding a change.
Has that occurred in Alaska? I don’t know, because the Times didn’t tell me. Shoddy reporting, to day the least.
September 15th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
So basically the Alaska state government is like an episode of Entourage.
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