The Missing Faction
Laura Rozen has a good reported piece on the continuing anxiety of the foreign policy hands who took risks with their career to support Barack Obama in the primary, and who now seem to be left a bit out in the cold as the time comes to fill jobs. At issue is the fact that Obama decided to give the jobs with the most subordinates at Defense and State to people who obviously weren’t Obama loyalists. And Robert Gates and Hillary Clinton understandably want to fill their top subordinate positions with people they like and are comfortable with. And then those people in turn have their own ideas. Meanwhile, Susan Rice, who headed up the foreign policy operation in the campaign, has been sent off to be UN Ambassador. That’s a very senior position. But unlike in alternate realities in which she’d been made Deputy Secretary of State or Deputy National Security Adviser, it’s not a position that gives her a lot of sway over a large number of subordinate jobs.
25 Responses to “The Missing Faction”
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January 14th, 2009 at 8:41 am
So a bunch of smart, successful people sacrificed much time, effort and possibly money helping someone else reach the mountain top. How did they get so smart and successful without knowing and taking to heart the old adage “Get it in writing”? Hey whiners, the check is in the mail! Ha, ha, ha…..
January 14th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I thought Susan Rice and Hillary Clinton don’t get along. One of them had to lose out.
On the other hand, Rice could have been given a more hands-on ambassadorship, in some interesting part of the world.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:55 am
So, where in the State Department do we fit this lady?
January 14th, 2009 at 9:07 am
1) I thought that Hillary’s pre-condition for accepting Secretary of State was that she be allowed to bring her own people in. So Obama accepted that as the price of reducing his major rival in the Democratic Party into a subordinate who serves at his pleasure.
2) I myself think that was kinda stupid of Obama unless he stuffs the State Department with spies to keep him informed on what Hillary is doing –else Hillary may hand him the equivalent of a diplomatic truck bomb at some point.
Not even to advance Hillary’s personal self-interest — but to advance the interests of Hillary’s patrons like Haim Saban.
The Israel Lobby may take a page from Hamas and use Hillary as a political suicide bomber.
3) Don’t believe me? Ask Bill Clinton about a certain Jewish intern called Monica Lewinski.
4) Of course, it’s possible that Obama has already sold out to the Rich Guys — ask the complaining Foreign Policy experts how much of Obama’s $200 Million war chest they helped raise.
If so, then the Rich Guys of the Israel Lobby obviously don’t want Foreign Policy experts around who were criticizing some of the more malign effects of the Israel Lobby.
5) Obama may simply be following the well-trod path of the traditional Democratic politican — i.e, the politician claims to represent the common citizen while in fact serving merely to co-opt, undermine and betray any resistance the common citizen mounts to being buttfucked by our elites.
Because our elites pay better than Joe Six Pack.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Since the days of the Roman Republic, politics has been a Rich Man’s Game. Not just in the sense of having to use money to buy influence –but also in the sense that you can’t act freely unless you have an independent income that’s immune to economic retaliation by the people you piss off. Politics consumes enormous time and effort –hence income — with no profit to the player. Unless you become someone’s whore.
Even Cicero became a groveling,craven bootlicker in the end. Right before his head was cut off and Clodia stuck her hatpin through his tongue.
Someone let those Foreign Policy virgins know.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:35 am
I find it disappointing that Ned Lamont has not been included in the administration despite his early support for Obama. But maybe he is just waiting for Holy Joe to exit in 2012.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:53 am
If these foreign policy hands supported Obama because they thought his coattails were going to sweep them into better jobs then that’s pretty lame. Most people who support a Presidential candidate (by most I mean 99.9999%) don’t expect to be rewarded with a job because of it. I think Obama wants an administration full of Charlie Buckets and not Veruca Salts so these foreign policy hands should act accordingly if they know what is good for their careers. ‘Give it to me now’ isn’t likely to be a good way of advancing your prospects with No Drama Obama.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Gee, so the camp followers of the victor didn’t get enough of the spoils. Bad Obama, he should be more like Bush and put loyalty first. Wonder who his Harriet Miers will be.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:39 am
The issue isn’t loyalty vs a meritocracy. The issue is placing loyalty to someone else (Hillary) above a meritocracy. Hillary is not filling State positions based on a free and open application process; it’s based on her networks. Obama has done this in other parts of the admin, just not on foreign policy. After all, it’s not as if the Chicago boys were with a chair when the music stopped. All of the political circle were given key positions in the white house.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I’m wondering about Samantha Power. Do you know what connection she now has to the transition/ new administration if any?
January 14th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Re Tom A’s question “I’m wondering about Samantha Power.”
——————
The Monster says
“Samantha who??”
January 14th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
The hell with them. Either they supported Obama because they thought he was the best choice, or I don’t want to hear about it. It’s not a job fair….or should I say, it is inevitably a job fair, but the hiring qualifications aren’t what the aspirants want it to be.
January 14th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I agree with those who don’t think Obama should use jobs in his admin as political favors to supporters. First because it’s important to choose the most qualified, not just most loyal people and second, it’s good to have those working near Obama who know that if they disagree with something, they won’t be fired.
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