With the appointment of Rahm Emmanuel and other rumored appointments, for the moment at least Obama seems to be sending out Clinton/DLC signals. Will this last? I have no idea, but if he is a left extrememist he is not showing it as yet. The most important and, I would imagine, closely watched selection will be Secretary of the Treasury. The markets are not reacting well to Obama’s election, if indeed that is what they are reacting to amidst the welter of other bad economic news.
On a more comic/wry note, you can all look forward (I hope) to the post election episode of Poliwood coming up Friday, when Lionel and I comment on the Emmanuel appointment. The new chief-of-staff is the brother of the Hollywood agent who is is the model for the Jeremy Piven character on Entourage. Plus ca change…
The culturally left-wing investment community overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama over John McCain. They did so primarily because these folks believed the Anointed One was merely lying to the blue collar workers to get their votes. Obama really couldn’t be serious about his official anti-trade position and union card check advocacy. He was essentially pulling everyone’s leg. Well, wasn’t he? At present, these fools are realizing that Obama is not just a hard core cultural warrior—but also an economic one. Buyer’s remorse is already setting in.
Also, when does the U.S. Justice Department investigation start regarding the widespread campaign fraud? Why is the silence so deafening? Has our country already turned into something of a banana republic? Can anyone answer this most important question?
I forgot to mention that the culturally left-wing investment community expects to earn billions of dollars on “green stocks.” It is financially committed to the global warming nonsense mostly because of the predicted profits. However, these fools ignore the overall damage Barack Obama is going to cause to the nation’s economy. At the end of the day, they will likely lose far more than they gain.
Some anonymous woman perspicaciously observed that countless people voted for Obama hoping that he was lying concerning his true intentions. Think about that for a minute. They literally hope that Obama is a liar! We are indeed in deep excrement.
Amazing isn’t it, how most folks optimistic outlook and emotional “thinking” can override their understanding of what is actually going on and vote for “Hope and Change”. Well, I’m afraid they “hoped” and what they are going to get, is “change” they didn’t expect. Especially those feckless fools betting in the financial sector. About the only ones getting what they were paying for are the hordes of illegal contributors from overseas, especially the middle east.
It will be interesting if/when President Obama threatens to raise the costs of using coal to generate electricity. I work in utility law, and coal is about 50%+ of my state’s electricity fuel. My state has enough economic problems without adding that, and I doubt other states’ representatives or senators are going to sit back and watch this done to their constituents.
If Pres. Obama does hike coal-fueled electricity through the roof, and Congress does nothing, he and they will hear it in 2010. I don’t care how many tax credits you give a family, the electric bill comes every month and a credit comes once a year. Add in a foreign humiliation or two and you will see a reaction.
(And no, windfarms can’t be built fast enough to take up the demand.)
Slightly OT, but it’s just as I predicted: The “Left” is already turning against Obama. Ralph Nader has just now called him an “Uncle Tom” on O’Reilly!
And so the fun begins….
Appointments of Clinton people is also a way to deal with any power plays by Hillary. Plus, Emannuel is probably the type of tough guy (by reputation anyway) the Obama will need. I doubt this is a move to the center.
Nader was calling Barry names like “gutless,” even before the election. Does anybody, even Lefties, pay attention to windbag Nader? When Michael Moore starts calling Barry names, it’ll be time to be impressed.
More Carter II than Clinton II.
If America wanted Clinton II, we certainly had our chance at her.
Scott
We don’t live in 1976 anymore. Americans are heavily invested in the stock market. It acts on presidents today in a way it never did before. If the market continues to tank, many folks are gonna be pushing Obama to do something about it. It is very difficult for a president to veer too far to the left, no matter how much some of his allies want it.
Well, descriptions of Emanuel as a bulldog politician who doesn’t like to play with others is not a comforting start for those looking for a centrist administration.
I have to admit laughing that “the One” has a chief of staff named “Emanuel,” though – God with us??!!??
I think the next few months will reveal that America has bought a pig in a poke. The liberal illuminati will continue to revel in their newly bought freedom, with socialistic agendas being forced down everyones’ throats.
Not only does Obama’s record speak for itself; the elitist Chicago left inhabiting his transition team bears out his extreme leftist views.
Reverend Wright is BACK! He says Obama shares most though not all of his views, he might again minister to Obama, and hopes to be in the public eye a lot more.
Oh, and America is even more racist than ever!
The Jerry Springer Presidency.
whiskey –
no links?
Though Emanuel has ties to the Clintons and the DLC, I don’t think he is there to move Obama to the center.
The center of the Democratic Party has moved left just has Obama wants it to. He will use people with a reputation as “moderates” to help push his agenda, which is far to the left of anything Clinton attempted.
Obama is comfortable with operatives from the Chicago machine. It’s what he knows. The machine is hardly monolithic, but those in it are intensely loyal to its members. Emanuel represents a different wing of the machine.
Most of all, Emanuel is there to offset the Pelosi-Reid power bases in Congress. Obama was never a leader or a skilled operative in the Senate. He never built his own power base and gained few loyalists in his time there. He fears his agenda being co-opted by savvy politicians there, many from constituencies with less radical sentiments. He also watched the Nancy and Harry show during the bailout debate and worries about them incompetently bungling his program. Emanuel is the natural choice to neutralize them.