The Obama Cabinet

During the last few weeks President-elect Obama has assembled an impressive economic and national security team. The appointments have received rave reviews. The strength of experience and overall quality has been affirmed by Democrats and Republicans alike. Surveys of public opinion have demonstrated widespread support for the appointments. About 71% support Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State designate, and 80% or more approve of retaining Secretary Gates at the Defense Department. Overall, the cabinet has about 75% approval of the public.

There are detractors. The main caveat seems to be the convergence of too many large egos for effective governance. Has President-elect Obama put together a 'team of rivals' as Doris Kearns Goodwin describes in her book on Lincoln, and is that a good or bad thing? Well, we know the egos of the George W. Bush cabinet failed pretty miserably. Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfield, and Colin Powell just didn't make it. The difference, I believe, was that the Bush cabinet represented two widely divergent ideologies that could not be reconciled, thus precipitating a major power struggle. In this case, despite media efforts to highlight major differences among the Obama National Security team for example, they really pale in comparison to the differences within the Bush cabinet. There is also likely a difference in leadership qualities between the current and incoming Presidents.

The conflicts between Hillary and Barack on foreign policy during the primaries came to the fore precisely because no major differences actually existed. Both candidates had to magnify minor differences such as who should talk to Iran, because they shared a quite similar overall vision for foreign policy. The differences Obama had with Secretary Gates over Iraq have pretty much been eliminated because of the changes on the ground in Iraq and the new Status of Forces Agreement approved by the Iraqi government. The entire National Security team is in agreement that diplomacy needs to be used more frequently and more effectively, and that military entanglements need to be minimized.

So have we indeed assembled the dream team? All Americans should hope that this is so. I believe all the principals can and will work together. In the short term there is much to be hopeful about. One major question, though, is just how patient will the American people be. How much latitude will they give this administration to function? I don't believe there will be problems initially by team members not working together, or trying to out maneuver each other. The problem, rather, will be how much of an opportunity will the American people give them to operate.

The judgement on this cabinet and on the individuals in it needs to be exercised in the area of performance. The Economic Team for example needs to be given a chance to put their recovery plan in place. If Congress impedes progress on Obama initiatives we will never know if their recovery plan can work. Every decision Obama makes will by definition produce both agreement and disagreement. Each item in the stimulus plan will be both praised and attacked by various members of congress as it is unveiled. Yet the truth is there is no magic bullet that all can agree will turn the economy around in the shortest amount of time. I believe we need to trust the leaders we have put in office and support their efforts to revive our economy. Picking apart the stimulus plan, or insisting that narrow interests be included for political reasons will interfere with progress at a time when we all need to be pulling together. There will be plenty of time to play politics, but if there was ever a time when a new administration should be given a chance to implement their policies, this is it.

The time for criticism will undoubtedly come soon enough, and of course plenty of mistakes will be made. Hopefully, though, if President-elect Obama is given an opportunity to put in place a well thought out plan crafted by his team of experts that everyone seems to believe in, we will see enough successes to move our country forward again. I agree that the team is impressive, lets give them a chance to work their magic.