Obama's nomination woes continue

[Victor Galis]

A) I'm not a socialist
B) I do have a good idea of what I'm talking about

Yeah, by Quebec standards, I don't think anyone on these boards is a socialist.

I felt a bit like a reactionary opposing various strikes while I was at McGill.

I really hope the CW on this turns out to be wrong. I doubt it, though; this is what happens when you elect a wholly inexperienced President to deal with a major crisis.

To be fair, it would be worse if we had an experienced Republican.

[Arrian]

As for "the establishment" turning against Obama, I hope not (because he needs them, unfortunately). Also, **** the establishment. They're a big part of the problem.

-Arrian

[Naked Gents Rut]

The establishment is the reason Obama still hasn't nominated people to fill the vast majority of the spots at Treasury?

[Naked Gents Rut]

Chas Freeman, the Obama administration's choice to serve in a key U.S. intelligence post, abruptly withdrew Tuesday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and numerous other congressional leaders complained to the White House that he was too closely tied to Saudi and Chinese government interests.

The resignation of Freeman represents another serious "vetting" embarrassment for the White House and a personal blow to Dennis Blair, President Obama's national intelligence director. After choosing Freeman to head the National Intelligence Council, Blair had publicly defended his choice and insisted as recently as this week that he had no intention of withdrawing the selection. On Monday, Freeman himself was telling people on Capitol Hill that the more criticism was heaped on him, the more intent he was on fighting to stay at the intelligence council.

A former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Freeman has faced questions over the past two weeks about financial ties between members of the Saudi royal family and the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC), a Washington think tank he heads that has been critical of U.S. support for Israeli government policies. But Pelosi's objections reportedly focused on Freeman's ties to China. A well-placed Democratic source said Pelosi, a strong supporter of the Chinese human-rights movement, was incensed about public remarks that Freeman once made that seemed to justify the violent 1989 Chinese government crackdown on democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square. The source, who asked not to be identified, said Pelosi thought Freeman's views were "indefensible" and complained directly to President Obama about his selection.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/188725

[Theben]

If only we could have. Bush 1 was a great president.

Not really. Time has made him more popular. When he lost the election, most people were happy to see him go.


One of the things that cost him was trying to woo both sides of the aisle. When Obama 1st spoke of 'bipartisanship', I was afraid he'd fall into the same trap. Looks like he's doing just that. He'd be better off lobbing platitudes to the right in public while telling them 'sod off' in private, and getting done what he needs to do.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Your worldview fascinates me.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Qft

[Naked Gents Rut]

He'd be better off lobbing platitudes to the right in public while telling them 'sod off' in private, and getting done what he needs to do.

The top congressional leaders from both parties gathered at the White House for a working discussion over the shape and size of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan. The meeting was designed to promote bipartisanship.

But Obama showed that in an ideological debate, he’s not averse to using a jab.

Challenged by one Republican senator over the contents of the package, the new president, according to participants, replied: “I won.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/01/23/obama-to-gop-i-won/

[Naked Gents Rut]

Third Top Treasury Pick Withdraws From Consideration

Democratic sources say that H. Rodgin Cohen, a partner in the New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and the leading candidate for Deputy Treasury Secretary, has withdrawn from consideration.

It's the third withdrawal of a top Treasury Department staff pick in less than a week.
I reported last week that Cohen was likely to be officially nominated for the Deputy Treasury Secretary position.

Cohen has been a counsel to just about every major player on Wall Street, which perhaps complicated his nomination.

Now, the nomination is off.

Democratic sources said that an issue arose in the final stages of the vetting process.

As one source put it, "it's back to the drawing board."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/03/another-top-tre.html

Not good...

[Theben]

Your worldview fascinates me.

Thanks. What part confuses you? Surely not what I said about Bush 1.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Obama must not be concerned about the DC media establishment turning on him.

A Gridiron Club member tells FBDC first that President Obama will not attend this year's dinner next Saturday, March 21st. He will be the first president since Grover Cleveland not to attend the first Gridiron Club Dinner of his presidency.

This year's date coincides with the spring break of President Obama's daughters' school and club members have been informed the Obama family will be out of town, likely in Chicago.

Vice President Joe Biden will attend and speak at the dinner in his place. This member tells us the club is delighted to have Vice President Biden, but that there will be some very disappointed guests.

Each year the dinner includes satirical musical skits choreographed by the members, and remarks by the president and various members of each party. President Obama spoke as a Senator at the March 2006 dinner.

The Gridiron Club was founded in 1885 and this year will be the 124th dinner. Membership is by invitation only and its 65 members include the most prestigious journalists in Washington.

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/events/pres_obama_will_not_attend_annual_gridiron_dinner_first_president_since_cleveland_to_miss_111152.asp

[Theben]

Damn him and his family values!

[Arrian]

The establishment is the reason Obama still hasn't nominated people to fill the vast majority of the spots at Treasury?

Huh? No.

As for Freeman, damn. Failed the Israeli loyalty test.

-Arrian

[DinoDoc]

As for Freeman, damn. Failed the Israeli loyalty test.

-Arrian

Seriously? You don't think his being the agent of a foriegn government was a problem and might have compromised his ability to provide intelligence in an unbiased manner? Not to mention his remarks argueing that the Chinese government was overly cautious wrt to its response to the Tiananmen Square protests was overly cautious might have said something about the way he might view events. But of course, its all the damn Jews fault Obama failed to vet his nominees properly.

[Naked Gents Rut]

A White House official last week passed details to The Sunday Telegraph of Mr Obama's desire to avoid a repeat of such errors as the inept handling of Gordon Brown's recent visit to Washington.

The concession came as allies of Mr Obama have begun breaking cover to question his performance and leadership on the economic meltdown and public diplomacy. ...

Mr Obama has now told his staff to learn from the errors made during Mr Brown's visit and to ensure that the protocol is observed when he meets the Queen later this month. ...

A source close to Mr Obama's top team telephoned this newspaper last week to say that White House officials now regard it as "a mistake" to have returned the bust of Winston Churchill that the British government loaned George W. Bush - a story first reported by The Sunday Telegraph - and then to have sent the prime minister home with a gift of 25 DVDs after his visit to Washington.

"Clearly it was a mistake, and they want people to know that they know that," the source said. "There is a collective desire to learn from the experience. They pride themselves on attention to detail. They didn't have their eye on the ball... they all know they've got to do better."

Mr Obama is due to call at Buckingham Palace shortly before the G20 meeting.

The source said: "The point was made that the protocol people need to be absolutely sure they are on top of everything to do with meeting the Queen and make sure that everyone knows what is expected. The Queen won't be getting any DVDs."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4991247/Barack-Obamas-aides-admit-errors-are-making-him-less-popular.html

Well, at least they seem to understand that they've cocked things up and want to avoid further mistakes.