Posts Tagged ‘Obama Administration’
Let’s Try Again on…GM
It’s got to the point where all you have to do is ask, and the billions come flying your way just because “you’re too big to fail”. It’s not a lesson any of us mere mortals can use, but if you’re a great big dinosaur of a car company, go right ahead.
General Motors we’re told by their auditors is at substantial risk of bankruptcy. That is not news. But it’s a useful little nugget to use if you happen to be GM looking for more cash to delay your collapse. Everyone knows the Obama administration is going to pay up, because the alternative is just too bleak to consider. GM goes under, and takes down the entire supplier structure which would be a body-blow to the rest of the world car industry, not to mention the hundreds of thousands added to the unemployment rolls in states that are already on their knees.
It’s a forlorn hope, but at least we should be a little imaginative in how we hand the money out this time. After all, we’ve kind of got these guys by the short and curlies. All we have to do (on behalf of the taxpayer of course, is twist). Here’s how… Read the rest of this entry »
Clinton and Obama on Iran – Diplomacy 101
To say that the Obama administration is all over the place on Iran is an understatement.
During the campaign, President Obama assured us that he would work hard to start a dialogue with Iran. His view remains, apparently at least, that engagement is the best way to deal with Tehran, their sponsorship of Hezbollah and Hamas, and most importantly the thorny issue of their nuclear ambitions.
Take today’s diplomatic shuffle on Iran. During her flight from Ramallah to Brussels after meeting Mahmoud Abbas, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton made the mistake of holding court with the press during which she gave Tehran a piece of her mind with rhetoric that was straight from W’s dusty old “axis of evil” playbook. HRC suggested that Iran seeks to “intimidate as far as they think their voice can reach.” She went on to say “It is clear that Iran intends to interfere with the internal affairs of all of these people and try to continue their efforts to fund terrorism, whether it’s Hezbollah or Hamas or other proxies.” Yeah, Hil, we’ve heard this about fifty thousand times before.
During the same in-flight interview, probably after a whisper from an advisor, she remembered that she was working for Obama, not still campaigning against him, and went on to reassure the press corps that the President was in fact still seeking to engage Iran in a dialogue, “but wanted to make sure it’s constructive”.
First Hilary lambasts the Iranians then she wants our negotiations with them to be constructive. Uhh. Okay, what’s the best way to put this?
Let’s start with the dictionary definition of the word “diplomacy”.
Robert Reich: Never Approached For Obama Cabinet Post
After the Judd Gregg and Daschle false-starts, it appears Obama has two more chances to fill a cabinet post with someone who is not a high-powered centrist insider. The silence surrounding any mention of Robert Reich for a cabinet position with the Obama administration has been deafening to many progresssives,
Reich gave a spirited endorsement of Obama in April of last year and is a perfect choice for the Commerce or HHS positions, an emminently qualified, insightful, forward-thinking voice in stark contrast to the rest of the middle-of-the roaders around the cabinet table.
I emailed Robert Reich to ask him whether he’d been approached by the new administration and received the following response;
I have neither been approached about, nor have I sought, a cabinet
position in the Obama administration.
When one of the most innovative and progressive policy-makers in the US today is passed over by the Obama administration, it’s a fact that speaks volumes about the superficiality of Obama’s call for change.
Why Did Obama Bypass Robert Reich?
Of all the cabinet choices that Obama didn’t make, there are a few that really stick out. Not choosing Bill Richardson at State after he had switched loyalties from the Clinton camp early in the game and delivered a big jolt of legitimacy to the Obama team is one, but at least he got a job – if not the one he wanted. The big and potentially most worrying missing name from Obama’s line-up is Robert Reich. Now, it’s very possible that Reich said he wasn’t interested, that he preferred being an academic and a commentator, but it’s also possible he was left out in the cold.
If the latter is indeed true, it would be a very worrying sign for the economic path Obama is likely to take. Reich is the most reasonable, sensible, honest, straightforward and intelligent guy who wasn’t chosen to steer the economy. He knows the mistakes that were made, he saw them coming a mile off, and unlike Tim Geithner, he has no role whatsoever in the disaster that has befallen us. His only ‘crime’ maybe that he is seen as too ‘progressive’, and might ‘scare Wall Street’ (not that Wall Street’s opinion is worth a bucket of spit). Read the rest of this entry »
Undoing The Damage – Bushwhacking 1.0
If you want to show the world you’re in charge and working hard without awkward press conferences that mean very little then…
Unlike the slightly nonsensical symbolism of the “Economic Bigshot” press conference that Obama gave on Friday afternoon, the more studied release of information about his long-time preparations to reverse Bush’s idiot executive orders on key environmental and other issues is the way to go.
The best thing about an Obama administration is likely to be the return of reason to the White House. It’s refreshing that good sense will prevail once more.