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.

Obama. Get some backbone!

Who exactly is running this show? Because right now the GOP seems to be leading the President by the nose. They complain and Obama seems to take heed. They whine about not paying taxes being terrible when half of their caucus was up to their neck in the Abramoff scandal.

Integrity can be a double-edged sword. If you swear by it too much, it can come back and bite you. Obama seems more concerned about polishing his bipartisan credentials than getting anything serious done. The GOP has decided that he’s a liberal that they have to block while the President has decided he wants ‘cross the aisle’. Those two concepts aren’t compatible. He has to abandon this bipartisan obsession now or see his critical first hundred days go up in smoke.

The GOP must be loving this moment. Far from being hustled into obscurity, they’ve been courted and coddled. First, Obama genuflects to the GOP house caucus and gets nothing, then he nominates Judd Gregg for Commerce, after Richardson, a superb public servant gets dumped. And meanwhile, Mitch McConnell is demanding that the President get the Democratic caucus in order if he wants bipartisanship. The gall of that is stupendous, but does Obama respond with the derision it deserves? No, he jumps to it.

Things are getting out of hand. Obama needs to remember who he is. He’s a Democrat, elected by Democrats to bring real “change” to this country. Or was his election mantra just another clever slogan?

Lost Opportunities at State

Sounds like her ladyship, Hilary Clinton is going to get the nod at the State Department. There are two far better choices out there, one of whom didn’t get a look-in, the other who was sold short.