Today Obama announced that retired general Eric Shinseki as his secratary of veterans affairs. This is the latest announcement from a president elect who seems to thrive on being surrounded by strong personalities.
I have realistic expectations for Obama. Actually, I have only one expectation for Obama: he will be WAY better than George Bush. Shinseki was basically fired by the W team for speaking his mind about the enormity of resources that would be required to hold Iraq once the invasion was over. After more than 5 years of war, and with the “surge” now history, even the Bush administration couldn’t argue that Shinseki was wrong. I see this appointment as affirming a man who has served his country well while denouncing the policies of Rumsfeld and Bush.
Obama has a well-formed world view, perhaps the largest thing missing from the White House for the last 8 years. He has a clear grasp of the scale of America’s problems, and he is comfortable hearing from those who do not neccesarily agree with him. I think that he will be an incredibly moderate Democrat, and despite a wall of problems that will hamper his progress, I think that he is assembling a team that will bring much needed reform to Pennsylvania Avenue.
No, I don’t think he is a new breed of politician. I’ve followed him for over two years, and I am in some ways disappointed that he has backed down from some of the things that I admired about him (like his energy policy). However, in contrast to Bush, I think that the next 4-8 years are going to feel a little like prosperity, even if we’re all broke.
Posted in Politics
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