Bill Clinton administration

Bill Richardson has been described as voluntarily withdrawing from consideration as Commerce Secretary due to an impending federal investigation of contracts awarded to a company with ties to the New Mexico Governor.

But at least one news outlet is reporting that Richardson's withdrawal came at the urging of the Obama transition team:  read more »

Michael Tomasky writing in the Guardian about how anyone who thought Gates was a bad pick are complete idiots:

And people who can't see that Obama needs to reassure the political establishment by doing things like re-appointing Robert Gates at the Pentagon precisely so he can have the establishment's good will, which in turn grants him the room to operate and to isolate the political opposition, understand so little about politics that it's not even worth the time it would take to spell out the argument to them.

What Tomasky apparently does not realize is that those stupid people who demonstrated total political ignorance by opposing Gates for re-appointment included many of Obama's own advisors:

The speculation over Gates' tenure has been most intense inside the Obama transitio

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The most important appointment decision Obama will make during the transition, bar none, is who becomes, or remains, Secretary of Defense. As I have noted in the past, the Department of Defense oversees the expenditure of 52% of all discretionary spending, rendering it literally impossible for any other cabinet Secretary to oversee as much federal money. Further, keeping Gates on would only worsen Democratic image problems on national security, as he would be the second consecutive non-Democratic Secretary of Defense nominated by a Democratic President. The message would be clear: even Democrats agree that Democrats can't run the military.

There is a debate about this inside the Obama transition team:

The speculation over Gates' tenure has been most intense inside the Obama transition team.

 read more »