tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post812922737693833261..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Preparing for the PresidencyJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-38549461260326993722008-12-09T15:08:00.000-06:002008-12-09T15:08:00.000-06:00"When you get on post, after reporting in for duty..."When you get on post, after reporting in for duty, fund out who your sergeant is and what they like to drink. Buy them a case of it. Present it to them when checking in and then ask them just WTF your job is."<BR/><BR/>Best piece of command advice I ever got.Steve Buchheithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-84828215457642868912008-12-08T22:29:00.000-06:002008-12-08T22:29:00.000-06:00I'm going to play devil's advocate here. With a fe...I'm going to play devil's advocate here. With a few exceptions, I haven't been horribly impressed with the incoming nominees because IMHO they are standard-issue Democratic front-runners. They certainly are strong enough to know their own minds, but they are also keepers of the party-business-as-usual continuity.<BR/><BR/>I was truly hoping for some creative thinking, some bipartisan selections and some completely non-political, genius-in-their-own field selections that didn't smack so much of political favor-trading. I will defer to your judgment on Shineseki - he sounds like a very solid, honorable man.<BR/><BR/>Because really, why couldn't we have Paul Krugman (or Warren Buffett?) advising him on finance? And Colin Powell for education? And why the fuck do we have a governor or a senator in the relatively useless office of Homeland security - why not someone with true experience in the security and anti-terrorism field, who might be able to make a useful and sane difference in the way our nation handles that function?<BR/><BR/>Instead, it's cronies, senators, governors, longtime senior administrators in Washington. They may bring experience to the table, but they also bring a tremendous inertia. I had hoped for better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-35811319086231936852008-12-08T19:31:00.000-06:002008-12-08T19:31:00.000-06:00I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear a cabinet m...I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear a cabinet member during 2009 say, "I'm not always in agreement with the President, but he always gives me a fair hearing before making his decisions."<BR/><BR/>That sort of <EM>disloyalty</EM> would be unthinkable in the current administration.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-8006654187116434442008-12-08T19:30:00.000-06:002008-12-08T19:30:00.000-06:00Fantastic post.Fantastic post.shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17852142063248938053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-8942125610676768182008-12-08T18:30:00.000-06:002008-12-08T18:30:00.000-06:00These cabinet picks are actually making me very ha...These cabinet picks are actually making me very happy (bad liberal me!) <BR/><BR/>Before the election I think I repeatedly said that I hoped he would pick experienced cabinet members and then listen to them. The fact that he is picking men and women who may disagree with him is extremely important.<BR/><BR/>As you said, discussion is a good thing. <BR/><BR/>I think the experience issue (which you didn't address) is important was well; he needs people who are not going to be afraid to tell him he's being stupid. I would fear that young and inexperienced cabinet members would be likely to grin and nod more than say, "You're wrong."Random Michelle Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817444379694818074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-42374853029973203002008-12-08T17:56:00.000-06:002008-12-08T17:56:00.000-06:00heh heh - we used to joke about Reaganisms coming ...heh heh - we used to joke about Reaganisms coming out of the Moon in the House of Uranus. Eh, it seemed funnier when we were looking across the border into East Germany...<BR/><BR/>One of the things I saw before throwing in my vote was that Mr. Obama seemed to be a flexible-minded sort of person (not the hard party-line, aforementioned toadie type) who would probably be open to serious discussion and debate - especially among those he chose to advise and assist him. Mrs. Clinton did look like she had an ohshit moment, though, when she accepted.<BR/><BR/>I'm going to go read up more on General Shinseki...Karlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11854671368992589012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-45537807298023065832008-12-08T17:33:00.000-06:002008-12-08T17:33:00.000-06:00Oops!Oops!Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-28332473339906681202008-12-08T17:32:00.000-06:002008-12-08T17:32:00.000-06:00Come on Jim, Nancy wasn't Commander in Chief... th...Come on Jim, Nancy wasn't Commander in Chief... that would have been her astrologerThordrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02483497564571489980noreply@blogger.com