PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA II
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THIS IS SOME FANTASY LAND SHIT
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Thought PoliGAF was gone, eh?
Seriously, it's real. Wake up. So now we're past the honeymoon phase, and it's time to get down in the dirt. You heard Obama is going to get off the ground running, and with no Bush in the office the only certainty is complete fucking change.
So, who will he choose for his cabinet positions? Will he be a post-partisan figurehead, bringing people from both parties into the mix? Will he become a furious leftwing defender, crashing down the dreams of a new tomorrow? This is the thread for that discussion and other political news, until Inaguration Day and beyond.
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LET'S GET DETAILS
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So what will the transition team look like?
[url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06elect.html]NYTimes[/url] said:
A slew of people were named Wednesday to serve on an advisory board for Mr. Obamas transition, including William Daley, a former secretary of commerce; Michael Froman, an executive at Citigroup, former treasury department official and former classmate of Mr. Obamas at Harvard Law School; Julius Genachowski, another former law school classmate, former chief counsel to the Federal Communications Communications and one of the Obama campaigns biggest fund-raisers; and Susan E. Rice, a former Clinton administration official and senior foreign policy advisor to the Obama campaign.
Chris Lu, Mr. Obamas legislative director in the Senate, was named executive director of the transition team.
THE CHIEF OF STAFF -
[url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15314.html]Politico[/url] said:
In his first major move as president-elect, Barack Obama has asked Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), a tough-minded tactician with West Wing experience, to serve as his White House chief of staff, Democratic sources tell Politico.
Emanuel has said to friends that he wants and will take the job, but it was not a done deal as of early this morning. Obama plans to move swiftly with his transition announcement and could name Emanuel this week, the sources said. He then plans rapid-fire announcements on his economic and national security teams.
I think this a very workman-like choice, nothing revelatory yet. Discuss implications etc.
THE PRESS SECRETARY
[url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15385.html]Politico[/url] said:
Robert Gibbs, 37, sits in the inner ring of Obamas inner circle, serving as a personal cheerleader and media enforcer who is one of a handful of aides to speak with almost unquestioned authority on Obama's behalf. An Alabama native with a slight Southern drawl, Gibbs is a smooth talker and a fierce combatant, kibitzing with the press one minute and going to war over a story the next.
Robert has managed through the years to sort of find the perfect space for a flak, said Jim Jordan, a Democratic strategist who hired Gibbs at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2002 and onto John Kerrys 2004 presidential campaign. He knows where the sweet spot is between loyalty and exceedingly fierce advocacy for his boss and doing what he can to serve the needs of the press.
Obvious choice.
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THE ULTIMATE PUFF OF HOPIUM
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January 20, Obama is Inaugurated. After nearly 2 years of campaigning, twists, turns... we made it. But here is where the fun begins.
What promises will he be able to keep? What priorities will he drop? The harsh realities are now here, and a president has to make hard choices. What are YOUR hopes and idealS?
