Why Obama wants Hillary
Will assembling a "team of rivals" like Lincoln's bring unity, or dysfunction?
Should Obama fill his cabinet with former foes?
(AP Photo/Randy Snyder)
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton attacked each other "brutally" on foreign affairs during the Democratic primaries, said Karen Tumulty and Massimo Calabresi in Time online. The fact that Obama "has all but offered" Clinton the prestigious job of Secretary of State, which would make her his top diplomat, is the clearest evidence to date that Obama is determined to depart from recent tradition and form a "team of rivals" to run his government, the way Abraham Lincoln did.
It's time to "throw some cold water on this Obama-as-Lincoln" stuff, said Jonah Goldberg in National Review Online. So what if Obama loved Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, "Team of Rivals," which described how Lincoln was a genius for putting adversaries in his cabinet? Obama hasn't really done anything yet, so comparing him to Lincoln because they shared personnel policy "is like saying George Bush is Thomas Jefferson because they both liked chicken soup."
If Obama does follow Lincoln's model, said Joseph Williams in The Boston Globe, he should be careful. Some historians think Goodwin's book sugarcoats how tough it was for Lincoln to handle the "rancor" inside his cabinet. Obama could find that this risky strategy will "alienate his allies and sow dysfunction inside the White House."
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13 Comments
Posted by maz hess, Friday, November 21, 2008, 12:20 pm The most dangerous person for barack is Bill and he is doing everything to cut Bill out: Every democrat with influence who might listen to Bill is in his future cabinet or in his transformation team and hillary will be somewhere abroad. And Bill even has to give up all his activities for not interfering with his wive. Baracks aim is to have nobody in his back, so he never has to think about any knives left around.
Posted by art, Friday, November 21, 2008, 3:25 pm big mistake to pick clinton--their foreign policy approaches are totally different--we have had enough of the clinton's--it's time for a change
Posted by Glenn in CA, Friday, November 21, 2008, 6:35 pm Temporarily rivals, yes! But both also have a common interest - the best for America and a continuing "in power Democratic Party! With the experience of SOS, for EIGHT years, she'll be groomed, with no rival, for being first female President in 2016. Ah! The audacity of HOPE!
Posted by Jesica, Friday, November 21, 2008, 7:04 pm Wouldn't it make sense to let BO be the actual president for a while before we start comparing him to one of the greatest (Republican) presidents that ever served? Just an idea, it might add some credit to the comparison, if anyone cares
Posted by theodore kurrus, Saturday, November 22, 2008, 7:43 pm Obama's selection of Hillary to his cabinet is an incredible mistake. Just consider his already being forced to make the announcement on Hillary's time, not at his discretion. She's already dictating policy to him. And she will continue to do so as long as she is part of Obama's presidency. Moreover, with Bill having the run of the White House as the spouse of the Secretary of State,e, hysteria will reign.
Posted by Kam, Saturday, November 22, 2008, 9:29 pm Jesica, Giving BO a chance to actually do something before he is crowned king, god, or messiah has never been a logical thought for libs. I do find it ironic that the president he is compared to is Lincoln, the first repub president. The libs will never see the irony.
Posted by Raideen!, Sunday, November 23, 2008, 2:06 am Obama's best move yet. Putting Hillary in the State Department keeps her out of the legislature!
Posted by ilAlfisto, Sunday, November 23, 2008, 2:11 am The policy differences between Hillary and Obama are minute, when you look at the big picture. She'll be a great Secretary of State IF she's big enough to take orders as well as she gives them. If she can't do that, Obama IS big enough to fire her, don't worry! And Bill needs to accept that he has been eclipsed as Resident Liberal Rockstar, and re-runs don't belong in Prime-Time.
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