Pandora’s cabinet?

I certainly had an interesting time watching Barack Obama fill many of his cabinet positions last week. To say that I was surprised would be — perhaps — the understatement of the year.

Already, despite his probably false messages of “hope” and “change” for America, Obama has wormed his way in with the biggest Washington insiders in the country. His cabinet might as well be a who’s who of Democratic Party elites.

Just look at his choices for these positions. (All taken from reports on FoxNews.)
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State; Bill Richardson, Secretary of Commerce; Tom Daschle, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Eric Holder, Attorney General; Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security; and Rahm Emmanuel, White House Chief of Staff.

See what I mean? None of these people are real “outsiders” like Obama branded himself during his campaign. I mean, I’m not asking Obama to pick Republicans for his cabinet — I’m not even asking him to pick one, even though that would bode well for the country — but I am questioning if he is keeping his campaign promises to those who voted for him.

Just look at these folks, surely I’m not the only one to have noticed this.

Take Hillary, for example. What on earth does she know about being the President’s chief foreign officer? She may have traveled, and she was First Lady for a few years, but those are hardly qualifications, especially to succeed someone so talented and capable as Doctor Condaleezza Rice. In case you were unaware, Rice is a PhD of international relations. Can Hillary claim anything like that?

Obviously not. That choice speaks volumes about Obama, though.

Look further; Bill Richardson, Obama’s Secretary of Commerce. Richardson has no relevant experience in “promoting American business interests abroad” as the Associated Press defines his new position. Richardson has never even been a businessman. Guess who he’ll be succeeding — Carlos Gutierrez, a man who worked his way from the bottom up to the President and CEO’s office of Kellogg.

Starting to notice a pattern here? I am.

Take Tom Daschle. Arguably one of the most liberal members of the Democratic Party, Daschle spent many years in Congress working on committees like the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. How close is that to Health and Human Services? Well, for Obama, that’s just as tangentially close as the rest of his future cabinet members’ previous careers, and therefore good enough.

Look even further down the roll at Eric Holder, who was Deputy AG during the Clinton years, and was instrumental in securing the Bill Clinton pardon of Marc Rich.

Rich, who is not an American citizen, was indicted by then-US Attorney Rudy Giuliani in 1983 on charges of tax evasion and illegal trading with Iran.

On Bill Clinton's last day as President, he pardoned Rich, citing Holder as a primary reason for doing so.

I thought Democrats liked taxes, so what happened? Rich was a wealthy man who would not pay his taxes, (ignoring his unscrupulous trading activities) why not let the indictment stand?

I'll tell you why.

Marc Rich appeals to liberals like Bill Clinton, Eric Holder and — apparently, by association — Barack Obama.

Rich is a coward, a fugitive, a criminal and an associate of Iran (all qualities that Democrats revere.) That must be why Clinton acceded to Holder's demand for a pardon for his “hero” of sorts.

The current Governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, actually opposes building a boarder fence in her state in order to protect her state, as well as the rest of the country. Even according to CNN exit polls, voters trusted John McCain to protect the country more than Obama, and now he chooses someone who refuses to protect her own state? Besides, it isn’t like she has any experience with terrorism or national security.

I know I’ll be sleeping more soundly. Thanks Barack.

You know, or not.

Look, the point I’m trying to make here is that Obama is not keeping his promised to those of you who were duped into voting for him. I don’t want Obama to pick a bi-partisan cabinet, and I’m not asking him to. He should do what he thinks is best, but I’m here to tell you, and you can quote me on this one, his “vision” is not the right one.

This isn’t over just yet.

Paul Thompson is the opinions editor of The Crimson White. His column regularly runs on Fridays.