(AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM/Newscom)
Obama criticizes Bush as he unveils Agriculture and Interior picks
By David Cook | 12.17.08
In announcing his choices to run the Agriculture and Interior Departments, President-elect Barack Obama was sharply critical of the Bush administration’s land management policies.
Obama unveiled his choice of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to head the Agriculture Department and Colorado Senator Ken Salazar to run the Interior Department on the same day Time Magazine unsurprisingly named the president-elect as its person of the year.
Both nominees have reputations as political centrists.
Cabinet building before Christmas
The announcements came at a press conference in Chicago’s Drake Hotel. It was Obama’s third meeting with the media in as many days, as the president-elect moves to complete his cabinet before an expected departure this weekend for a family Christmas vacation in Hawaii.
In response to a reporter’s question about Salazar’s role, Obama said the country “had an Interior Department that was deeply troubled” adding it was “too often seen as an appendage of commercial interests.” The Interior Department oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands and manages the nation’s parks and wildlife refuges.
“I want an Interior Department that very frankly cleans up its act,” Obama continued. In the recent past there was “not enough emphasis on what’s good for the American people,” he charged.
A frustrating silence
A reporter asked the president-elect about a request by the US Attorney’s office in Chicago to postpone release of an internal investigation of contacts between the Obama transition team and Illinois Governor Rod Blagovejich. and how that squared with his promise of governmental transparency. The governor has been charged with trying to profit from his ability to fill the US Senate seat Obama held.
“It s a little bit frustrating,” Obama said. “There has been a lot of speculation in the press that I would love to correct immediately.” He added that, it is “not going to be that long” before details are released.
Keeping rivals close
Trend spotters will note that Vilsack is the fourth former rival for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination to be named by Obama. The others are Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, and Commerce Secretary-designate Bill Richardson.
Vilsack was first elected Iowa’s governor in 1998 and re-elected in 2002. In the 2008 presidential race, he supported Hillary Clinton after dropping out of contention himself due to problems raising money. The sprawling Agriculture Department that he will lead oversees farm subsidies, food safety, hunger programs, national forests, and land conservation.
Obama said that as Iowa’s governor Vilsack “led with vision, promoting biotech to strengthen our farmers and fostering an agricultural economy of the future that not only grows the food we eat, but the energy we use.”
In brief remarks, Vilsack said his plans included “bringing hope to rural America.”
Family farming for generations
Before becoming the Democratic Senator from Colorado in 2004, Ken Salazar was his state’s Attorney General and led the state’s Department of Natural Resources. Obama noted that Salazar’s family has farmed and ranched the same land in Colorado for five generations.
Wearing a tan cowboy hat and a string tie, Salazar said he would be “a strong voice for the West and for the nation” as the country took what he called “the moon shot on energy independence.”
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2. Phil | 12.17.08
Rival: One who attempts to equal or surpass another, or who pursues the same object as another; a competitor.
I’d say quite literally everyone who ran against him for the Democratic nominee is a rival. I know what you’re getting at, and the word is being tossed around fairly often, but I don’t think it’s a stretch at all.
I would expect that typically it’s those superdelegates that pony up their public support who hope to be considered for positions with the next administration. People who jump out right away lending their support to a candidate expect their back to be scratched as well. In this case, we are also seeing direct rivals who not only ran against Obama, but engaged in the typical campaign rhetoric that bashes your opponent.
Sure, it’s not like Batman hiring on the Joker. But looking at the 2000 republican primaries, I’m not familiar with most of the 10 people that ran with Bush, and I don’t believe any of them moved on to join his cabinet.
3. joe | 12.17.08
Hey Richard
The only thing I disagree with you is the english word to comare and contrast two entities is “than” and not “then”, AND THIS LAPDOG thing
Joe
4. Ron King | 12.17.08
It seem a little pre-mature for Mr. obama to be critizing anybody, when he hasn’t even taken office (although he acts like is the president already)yet. All he has done so far is nominate a bunch of tree-huggers to his cabinet, along with a bunch who wouldn’t protect this country if the enemy was standing in fromt to the capital. of course he is buddy of with most of our enemies so I guess that is a moot point.
5. somesens | 12.17.08
I am a bit confused about the definition of “rival”. When you run against other people in an election for some position, aren’t they all considered your opponents or “rivals”? To say that all these people are not Obama’s rivals seems to be a little distorted. Of course, you would let out a bigger “wow” if he selects John McCain since he is his last rival for the race.
6. Robert | 12.17.08
Maybe that’s what they need to do for a CHANGE. Obama will need some leeway considering the many problems he has inherited. Richard, cut the man some slack.
7. Curita Harper | 12.17.08
Will placing his nay sayers in key positions the road to curing the USA ills?
It’s because of erronous beliefts that we are in this situation, greed put us in this crisis. How will this new cabinet which in the past favored the rich and the powerful really help people struggling to stay afloat?
Okay media show me the good stuff.
8. Tree Hugger | 12.17.08
Obama’s choice for Interior Secretary is by no means a tree-hugger. Its business as usual in DC. Didn’t take long for me to loose the optimism on him. Glad I voted for McKinney
9. Andy Snow | 12.17.08
Thank goodness! Now I can wear my bola ties without my girlfriend telling me I’m a geek. Look at how cool Senator Salazar looks in his!
On a more serious note, a “moon shot on energy independence” is exactly what we need, but I hope it is NOT at the expense of the environment. We need to go whole hog on solar, wind, conservation, etc, and leave some food for the poor (i.e. no biofuels made from corn), and some fossil fuels for the future. Our descendents deserve better!
10. duffmon | 12.17.08
Give them slack? That’s what we have been doing for far to long and look where we are today as a nation! NO, we will not stand by any longer and wait and see, after all “WE ARE THE GOVERNMENT”. We will from this day (actually it started alot earlier)forward take charge of what our leaders are doing and YELL at the top of or lungs, if we see anything that looks,smells or tastes like a sellout to what the majority of Americans demand that our elected officals do in our name!!!
O-and by the way; this government against the Big Car Company thing is BULL droppings. The government comes down on the poor car companies; ya right. This is the government and Car Companies working together to break the UNION. Driving down the workers wages and cutting the middle class some more. Bush coming to the car companies to save the day; only the workers have to give up everything to get the bailout!
Which is a LOAN, which as to be paid back by whom? THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! Not the car companies nor the people giving the car companies the loan! (BANKERS ARE THE WIN / WINNERS! Of course the politicans who get pocket money for their help and lets not forget the Big Car Companies who will use the money to build their new factories oversea, leaving Americans out of work with a big loan to pay back. (don’t forget the 850 billion for the bankers we’ll have to pay back to China)
Wake the **** up America!
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2. Obama Appoints Interior And Agricultural Secretaries - Thinking Outside - News That’s Fit For The Great Outdoors | 12.17.08
3. Obama: “I want an Interior Department that very frankly cleans up its act” « The GeoUpdate | 12.18.08
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. Richard | 12.17.08
I love how the media keeps characterizing Biden, Clinton, Richardson and now Vilsack as “former rivals”, in an effort to promote this idea that Obama is bringing in a diverse cabinet consisting of political opponents. Any differences that any of these people had with Obama were very minor, and to characterize them as “rivals” is a stretch. Had Obama chosen McCain, Huckabee, or Alan Keyes (God help us), then I wouldn’t have a problem with the media promoting this notion that Obama was bringing on board rivals. As it stands, the media is simply trying to promote this idea that Obama is somehow different then any President since Lincoln, and hey, look at him appointing rivals as evidence. There is no doubt the media will be carrying Obama’s water for the next four years…total lapdogs.