Those na?ve Brits
Via Andrew Sullivan, I see that the London Times’ Sarah Baxter gets face time with Barack Obama. Some fascinating nuggets come out: Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war, and Richard Lugar, leader of the Republicans ...
Via Andrew Sullivan, I see that the London Times' Sarah Baxter gets face time with Barack Obama. Some fascinating nuggets come out: Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war, and Richard Lugar, leader of the Republicans on the Senate foreign relations committee. Senior advisers confirmed that Hagel, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and one of McCain?s closest friends in the Senate, was considered an ideal candidate for defence secretary. Some regard the outspoken Republican as a possible vice-presidential nominee although that might be regarded as a ?stretch?. Asked about his choice of cabinet last week, Obama told The Sunday Times: ?Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine and I respect him very much,? although he was wary of appearing as though he was already choosing the White House curtains.... Obama believes he will be able to neutralise McCain by drawing on the expertise of independent Republicans such as Hagel and Lugar, who is regarded by Obama as a potential secretary of state. Larry Korb, a defence official under President Ronald Reagan who is backing Obama, said: ?By putting a Republican in the Pentagon and the State Department you send a signal to Congress and the American people that issues of national security are above politics.? Korb recalled that President John F Kennedy appointed Robert McNamara, a Republican, as defence secretary in 1961. ?Hagel is not only a Republican but a military veteran who would reassure the troops that there was somebody in the Pentagon who understood their hopes, concerns and fears,? he said. Now besides the virtue of poking Paul Kruigman with a sharp stick, I have to think that this is just one of those "let's have some fun with Fleet Street" moments in an otherwise exhausting campaign. To be sure, I suspect Obama actually will appoint at least one Republican to an important Cabinet department -- but there is zero chance of both Hagel and Lugar becoming cabinet secretaries in an Obama administration. There are simply too many Democrats who desire high-ranking positions at the Pentagon and Foggy Bottom for this to happen. Not to mention the fact that if Obama is smart, he wants Hagel and Lugar exactly where they are. They might be Republicans, but they are also GOP Senators willing to "do business" with an Obama administration in the Senate. Unless the fall election is a complete blowout (a possibility to be sure), these politicians are scarce commodities.
Via Andrew Sullivan, I see that the London Times’ Sarah Baxter gets face time with Barack Obama. Some fascinating nuggets come out:
Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war, and Richard Lugar, leader of the Republicans on the Senate foreign relations committee. Senior advisers confirmed that Hagel, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and one of McCain?s closest friends in the Senate, was considered an ideal candidate for defence secretary. Some regard the outspoken Republican as a possible vice-presidential nominee although that might be regarded as a ?stretch?. Asked about his choice of cabinet last week, Obama told The Sunday Times: ?Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine and I respect him very much,? although he was wary of appearing as though he was already choosing the White House curtains…. Obama believes he will be able to neutralise McCain by drawing on the expertise of independent Republicans such as Hagel and Lugar, who is regarded by Obama as a potential secretary of state. Larry Korb, a defence official under President Ronald Reagan who is backing Obama, said: ?By putting a Republican in the Pentagon and the State Department you send a signal to Congress and the American people that issues of national security are above politics.? Korb recalled that President John F Kennedy appointed Robert McNamara, a Republican, as defence secretary in 1961. ?Hagel is not only a Republican but a military veteran who would reassure the troops that there was somebody in the Pentagon who understood their hopes, concerns and fears,? he said.
Now besides the virtue of poking Paul Kruigman with a sharp stick, I have to think that this is just one of those “let’s have some fun with Fleet Street” moments in an otherwise exhausting campaign. To be sure, I suspect Obama actually will appoint at least one Republican to an important Cabinet department — but there is zero chance of both Hagel and Lugar becoming cabinet secretaries in an Obama administration. There are simply too many Democrats who desire high-ranking positions at the Pentagon and Foggy Bottom for this to happen. Not to mention the fact that if Obama is smart, he wants Hagel and Lugar exactly where they are. They might be Republicans, but they are also GOP Senators willing to “do business” with an Obama administration in the Senate. Unless the fall election is a complete blowout (a possibility to be sure), these politicians are scarce commodities.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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