Most Dissapointing Cabinet pick for Obama

[SuperTrouper]

[Wetzelbill]

1. I'd say Ken Salazar

Total weak sauce.

[truebrit71]

2. Agreed...Robert Kennedy would have been a killer choice...

....either that or head of the EPA...

[Occam Bandage]

7. He's an anti-vaccine tinfoiler. I prefer my nominees to understand science.

And to not be felons, but it was only a drug crime, so I'll let that one pass.

[Wetzelbill]

15. well anti-thimerosol anyway nt

[DevonRex]

14. But we progressives in Colorado LOVE that he's not our Senator anymore.

I have no idea how well he will do in his new position, but there is a bright side for us here. I like the guy that has been appointed in his place much more than Salazar, but again only time will tell how good he'll be. But he couldn't be worse than Ken.

[IndianaGreen]

46. Well, good for you and your fellow Coloradans

And a big hello to my friends in Denver and Conifer.

[Runcible Spoon]

3. where's summers and the others?

:shrug:

[Occam Bandage]

4. Bill Richardson, by far. I'm surprised he isn't on this list.

Any pick who has to withdraw his name in scandal is a pick that was not properly vetted.

[Sebastian Doyle]

5. Vilsuck (at least out of those listed)

Monsanto is one of the worst companies on the planet. Bad for the food supply (GMO/HFCS). Bad for any REAL development of efficient biofuels industry. Bad for family farming and organic farming by trying to eliminate actual species of vegetables and leave only their FrankenSeeds as a source.

A shill for that company has no business in the cabinet. Not to mention he's a long time DLC tool.

[roody]

48. Agreed---Monsanto tool sucks.

[depakid]

65. That pick was pure political patronage

and signaled business as usual.

[camera obscura]

6. Other - Clinton for SoS

I respect her but she was the wrong choice, and it's a far more perilous cabinet position than Agriculture or Interior.

[greguganus]

24. Agree. SoS n/t

[Number23]

31. I have to agree. And I love me some Hillary Clinton

That woman's intellect and personal strength are absolutely formidable.

But I don't think her experience qualifies her to be SoS. I would have loved to have seen Dr. Susan Rice in that position.

[SuperTrouper]

47. she is an excellent pick for SOS

[MoJoWorkin]

8. Why not ask the appointment you like best?

I am REALLY tired of the negativity here--it is making me come to DU less often.

Constructive criticism is one thing, but the pervasive attitude around here has gone way beyond that. I am not necessarily talking about this post, but in general.

[jackpan1260]

10. AGREED

I am sure many "outraged" people here couldn't even tell you the responsibilities of each cabinet position.

[NYC_SKP]

12. No kidding, if that's the "world view" of the OP...

oh, never mind.

I agree with you.

[zulchzulu]

9. I'd prefer he not get that entertainment center cabinet yet

You know, the one at Ashley Furniture. It's just gaudy. I know a guy in Virginia who can make much better cabinets than that and even does authentic period pieces that would match the White House style.

[I814U]

11. The worst ones aren't listed...

* Richard Holbrooke, PNAC, Middle East Envoy

* Dennis Ross, PNAC, Middle East Envoy

* John Brennan, torture advocate, Homeland Security Advisor


Now many of you will say, "But these aren't cabinet level, how bad can they be?"

ANSWER: They're advisors, they are not subject to the advise and consent rules of the Constitution. They are appointed without being confirmed by the senate. They get full access to the preisdent and formulate his policies. So what if he's hiring a torture enabler; after all there really are people called terr-uh-rists trying to kill us, right?

We won the election but the neocons still run the country.

[WI_DEM]

13. All these polls about "the worst" things Obama has done and nothing about the best?

makes me think that this place is freeperville. But negativity is what DU has become. There are ten negative threads about Obama for any favorable one.

[azmouse]

17. I thought the same thing.

[Renew Deal]

16. Vilsack

Agriculture needs more change than almost any department. Instead it's a terrible choice. I hope Vilsack positively surprises me.

[acmavm]

18. Nutsack has no business being anywhere the Agricultural Dept.

It's gonna just be more of the same old same old.

[Wetzelbill]

21. the man does have an unfortunate name

It's just waaaaay too easy.

[acmavm]

28. Ain't it? Sometimes it ain't even sport.

[amborin]

36. alas, he's much on the side of large scale capitalist ag, not small farmers

and seems to be rooting for hte wrong biofuels as well

but the sec'y of the interior is no prize, either, and prolly not up to the job

[rockymountaindem]

19. Ron Kirk as trade representative n/t

[Honeycombe8]

49. Why? nt

[rockymountaindem]

54. He's a big "free trade" supporter

and a proponent of MFA status for China. Continuing those policies won't make anything better.

[PresidentObama]

20. Salazar n/t

[harun]

22. That list is not good (to put it as nicely as I can)

[SuperTrouper]

23. I know. I did not include Richardson because he is toast. Hillary is a superstar,

so Others is the best I could do...

[harun]

33. Maybe add Hillary and the guy who got education

[totodeinhere]

25. I think "Disappointing" is too strong a word for me.

It it were up to me, some of the cabinet appointments and appointments to other high profile jobs would have gone to someone else. But nevertheless I am generally pleased with the direction that Obama seems to be going. I sincerely believe that Obama is a progressive, and he will accomplish a lot for the progressive cause while he is in office.

However, we can't expect him to please everybody all the time. Remember that he was elected by a broad coalition including conservative and moderate Democrats. Obama has to be their president too.

[closeupready]

26. Hillary.

n/t

[mnhtnbb]

27. Daschle is a horrible choice for HHS.

[AtomicKitten]

29. Obama's entire foreign policy team with the exception of Susan Rice.

:scared:

[ddeclue]

30. Hillary Clinton for SecState is most disappointing.

If I wanted her in power I would have voted for her.

It makes a mockery of my choice to then include her when she lost.

Doug D.

[rvablue]

61. Do you feel the same way about our next VP, Biden? n/t

[rug]

32. Daschle.

[LaydeeBug]

63. I'm right there with Daschle. nt

[mtnsnake]

34. If the environment is important to ya, then it's gotta be Salazar

There were times when it was hard to distinguish between Salazar and most Republians.

[Genevieve]

35. Hillary Clinton/SOS. nt

[Ioo]

37. Clinton

[fadedrose]

38. A tie - Clinton (preferred Kerry) & Gupta (preferred Dean) nt

[Sancho]

39. Education

[Fire1]

40. Arne Duncan

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. Arte Duncan - Education

[otohara]

42. Still Scratching My Head Over Salazar

I'm glad he's soon to be gone from the senate - No more calling his office and ranting about how republican he is, his need to join two gangs, and I'll never forget Alberto Gonzales...Salazar has terrible judgment of character.

Oh well, he's Obama's problem now. Hope he doesn't do too much damage.

[FLAprogressive]

43. Everbody but Solis, Shinseki, and Chu.....

[AtomicKitten]

45. my favorite choices too!

:hi:

[blaze]

44. Salazar n/t

[Honeycombe8]

50. So many to choose from, isn't there? I went w/Panetta. It's a "what?" choice. nt

[whistler162]

51. Maple instead of Pine!

What was he thinking?

[PassingFair]

52. What a suck-ass bunch of DLC weasels....

What, no NELSONS?

[NoPasaran]

53. Roberto1223 as Secretary of Spelling

Disappointing

[TacticalPeek]

55. It is amazing that "Gates" appears neither as a poll choice nor anywhere else in this thread.

I'm somewhat surprised that his approval is so high among DUers.

Then again . . .

[skepticscott]

57. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so

you beat me to it by about 5 minutes...

[MasonJar]

60. Gates goes without saying as the very worst!!!!!!!! I just selected Vilsak

from the list.

[skepticscott]

56. Nobody has a problem with Gates?

The guy is another Bush/Cheney tool who is presiding over the one cabinet department (other than maybe Justice) than most needs to be purged and disinfected of all neocon influence. How many of the people who have been waiting and hoping for their chance to blow the whistle on all of the corruption in the Bush DOD have been sent back into fearful hiding, knowing that the same boss is going to be there after Jan 20th? How many crimes will never see the light of day because of Gates' retention?

And please...none of this "we're at war and it might be dangerous to make a change" BS. We're not "at war". We're occupying a couple of piss-ant third world countries that are not even remotely a threat to us. There are plenty of qualified people out there who are not tools of a criminal Republican administration.

[backscatter712]

58. Dunno if Surgeon General is part of the Cabinet, but Sanjay Gupta.

There's a shameless corporate shill if I've ever seen one.

[MasonJar]

59. Vilsak could be a disaster. Factory farming and its equivalents must go.

Monsanto is evil, etc. For a so-called agent of change, Obama has chosen status quo in several significant areas. Certainly his Solis pick appears strong, which is good for labor after Mrs. Mitch McConnell, but Rahm Emanuel, while not cabinet, is my worst. Why are Robert Kennedy and Howard Dean not in this government of change if Obama is serious about hearing voices of truth and change?

[DailyGrind51]

62. Sanjay Gupta, shill for "big pharma" and opponent of universal healthcare!

[LaydeeBug]

64. Oh shit. I forgot about him. He unseats Daschle as my least fav, but I think

that Obama has more Clintonites in his admin than Hillary Clinton would have had. It all is VERY VERY VERY DLC, and I don't like that vibe. :scared:

[DailyGrind51]

69. Get a load of this courtesy of "Dialy Kos"!

Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General - worse than I thought (BIG CORRECTION) updatex4
by DrSteveB
Wed Jan 07, 2009 at 09:15:29 AM PST

There are some real problems with the possible selection of Dr. Sanjay Gupta as Obama's nominee for Surgeon General. And it goes way beyond his being factually wrong in his dust-up with Michael Moore.

Let me start by saying that he is a qualified neurosurgeon and obviously has media skill and connections beyond those of the typical nominee.

However, he has no professional background or training in public health, preventive medicine, and has shown de facto disdain for the basic precepts of evidence based medicine, all of which would be the underlying scientific basis of a Surgeon General.

And he has huge conflicts of interest as a bought-and-paid-for shill for Pharma, that should actually be disqualifying as a so-called journalist, to say nothing of being "Americas Family Physician" or the leader of the Public Health Service.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/7/104043/1871/240/681144

[KoKo]

66. CNN's and Big Pharma Owned....Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Class "A" SHILL!

I hope Obama didn't take Sanjay's advice and vaccinate his two young daughters with GARDASIL like Gupta did with his daughters while he urged the rest of us to do this, knowing the testing was still open to question.

[LWolf]

67. Other:

There are too many disappointments to pick just ONE.

I have to spend a hell of a lot of time with a pitchfork in that steaming mountain of manure to find any that are NOT a "disappointment."

[Iwillnevergiveup]

68. Truly only thrilled with Hilda Solis

Hope I'm wrong, but Hillary for SOS?? Husband is revered in many foreign countries, but.....:eyes: