Disappointing Appointments

I have seen a handful of complaints from the left on the appointments the Obama transition team have made to date. As well, the media seems particularly interested in highlighting that a number of those appointments are moderates or those (like Clinton) who disagreed with him at times and thus claim that Obama is assembling a 'Team of Rivals' like Lincoln as describe by Doris Kearns Goodwin. As usual, I think people are missing the point especially the media.

I don't see Obama seeking out his rivals, Daschle certainly isn't a rival, nor Richardson or Chu. And simply because Obama ran against Clinton, that alone doesn't make them rivals as all evidence from the general election to now show the two of them working pretty well together. I think the 'Team of Rivals' idea has come up in large part because most people (Clinton and Obama supporters from the primary) still have some hard feelings and have projected their own feelings onto this pairing and the media feeds off this. Remember how hard of a time Obama was supposed to have winning over the former Clinton supports and all the PUMA stories during the convention?

I think the biggest thing you see with Obama is that he is bringing in people with experience in getting the job done or people supremely qualified to get the job done. I think it says a lot when you bring in Steven Chu for Energy Secretary and he just happens to be a Noble physics laureate. Bringing in Clinton to head State, to me, is a clear signal that he wants to skip the meet and greets of foreign policy and get to work. And there could be no clearer sign that Obama is serious about healthcare than bringing in Tom Daschle.

One of the themes being pounded on by the media is 'where is the change?' when Obama is bringing in people with a good deal of Washington experience. I think too many people attached their own meaning of what Obama meant by 'change' even though he described it pretty clearly at the convention. The change Obama was talking about, for the most part, is government actually getting back to governing and getting things done. The jury will be out for awhile on if that change can happen and the Republicans will fight it tooth and nail, but I think the right team is in place to get the job done.