Change We Can Believe In

Every new announcement from the Obama transition team is greeted with the refrain 'I thought he was going to bring change, but this is more of the same'. I wonder what the media and others were expecting. Maybe if the President-elect were placing 18 year olds out of high school or 22 year olds out of college into cabinet posts it would be considered change.

First of all, I wonder where the notion came from that change meant rejecting the Clinton administration. I never heard Senator Obama say that he had a problem with the successes of the Clinton years. I thought change meant that we wanted to move away from the past eight years. The intent was to change the dynamics of the war in Iraq, to restore some of our lost civil liberties, to end torture as part of our policy, to bring competence back into our government (which by the way was a hallmark of the Clinton years), to restore our credibility and good name abroad, and to work with others both in and outside of our country as colleagues and not as flunkies to do our bidding.

The press has already demonstrated its distaste for everything Clinton, but it is time to put these withering voices aside. The press vented itself for whatever slights it may have received during the 90's all through the primary season and had much to do with sinking the Hillary campaign, but enough is enough. After all, Barack Obama is the President-elect and it is his judgement that matters as to who he wants in his cabinet. The press will have plenty of opportunity to judge the new cabinet on their performance so lighten up a bit. Also, whatever one may think of the principals themselves, their administration was filled with quality professionals who acquitted themselves well. They exude the experience that is needed for the many crises we face, and we should welcome them into the mix for the rough ride that is ahead. I would be interested in knowing who might be recommended for these posts that could bring anything to the table even close to what the likes of Rahm Emmanuel, Eric Holder, Larry Summers and others have to offer. Whatever problems Hillary may bring with her as Secretary of State are problems for the President-elect, not the New York Times etc. Unless, that is, the media is still determined to destroy the Clintons.

Frankly I am sick of it. Every new administration calls on the best and brightest of previous administrations. Unfortunately the experience gained in the current administration are not such that one would wish to call on their expertise. Obama is doing a good job of pulling the best and brightest together based on the needs of our country at this time. It is time for the media to stop expressing its disdain everytime anything Clinton is added to the mix. You saw to it that she did not become President or Vice President so stop with the nastiness.

I might just add for those who would say that the Clinton nomination has been handled poorly. I agree. I'm still willing to chalk that up to the growing pains of any new administration. Yet the media wants to blame the Clinton's for every bit of drama in this story. Andrea Mitchell was the first to break this story and she did not get the story from the Clintons. Hopefully it will get sorted out quickly. However, the constant determination of the media to ascribe sinister motives, and political intrigue to every Clinton move is truly getting old.