Vermont
Obama'd Part II: President-elect Obama talked a good game of change during his two-year campaign for the White House. Then he won.
First, by way of follow-up from muy posting back in March, at the height the pre-primary campaign season, I can tell you taht I did *not* vote for Barack Obama -- not in the Democratic primary (I voted in another primary), and certainly not for President in the national election. I voted for a person I know would have shunned old Bush policies and ignored the good-old-boy network of the US Senate.
Now that Obama's been elected, though, on his platform of "change", I think his actions warrant scrutiny and questioning. My question is: How can a candidate who won on a platform of change be allowed to name old-time Washington insiders and Bush friends to his cabinet?
Forget about the Clinton, Emmanuel, and Paneta appointments. Obama’s picks for his defense team – which we progressives hopes might signal a break from the status quo of giveaways to the military-industrial complex – are especially disconcerting. Even the Huffington Post, adamant campaigner for Obama, is critical. Read the post here..
Hell, Robert Gates was *Bush’s* most recent pick! Read more here. And this James Johnson guy is right out of the center-right energy establishment – advising Obama on what is ever-more clearly a war for oil: Read bout Jim Johnson's connections to Big Oil and Chevron.
And here’s the kicker. Joe Lieberman – remember, the former Democrat who campaigned for McCain? – says Obama’s cabinet picks are “about perfect”. Don't believe me! Read the article. That ought to put the fear into any self-titled “progressive” or “liberal”.
Ugh. Glad I turned back on my pre-primary inclinations and *did not* vote for this guy. We’ve been Obama’d, for sure.
UPDATE: More on the Obama "change" scam and his pick of foreign policy advisors. Read the story at CommonDreams.org Change, huh? Come 1/20/09, we'll *still* have a Chevron Oil director at the most senior levels of foreign policy. In what ways other than his speech-making is Obama better than what we've had these last 8, no, 16, no 28 years?!?!? I guess Obama *is* the next Kennedy... Kennedy, after all, was the first Reagan!