Change...What Change

Tens of millions of Americans bought into Barack Obama’s call for change and elected him our 44th president on November 4th. By the end of the campaign that clarion call had been distilled down to “Change We Can Believe In.” Toss in a few choruses of “Yes We Can” and a majority of voters were in the Obama conga line by Election Day. The appeal was simple and resonated across party lines. The early democratic primaries pitted Hillary Clinton’s alleged experience against Barack Obama’s call for change. The distinction was clear. If you thought it was time to return to the prosperity of the 90’s, Hillary was your candidate. If you’d had enough of Whitewater, Travelgate, the lost Rose Law Firm papers and the impeachment drama, then Barack was your man. He promised to turn the page on the drama of the Clintons and the ineptitude of George Bush.
Well, if you’d been in a coma since June and woke up this week, you’d be certain Hillary got the democratic nomination and is President-Elect or Barack Obama is and doesn’t know anyone of consequence who didn’t work for Bill Clinton. He’s appointed Clinton hatchet man Rahm Emmanuel as his chief of staff and another Clinton errand boy John Podesta as head of his transition team. Gee, I wonder who those guys are going to reach out to.
Then comes word his pick for Attorney General is former deputy AG under Janet Reno, Eric Holder. In addition to his fine work kidnapping poor Elian Gonzalez and returning him to Fidel Castro’s Cuba, he was also instrumental in putting the Mark Rich pardon on Bill Clinton’s desk. You don’t get your hands much dirtier than that in the Clinton administration. It will be interesting to see if there are any republicans left in the Senate with enough guts to push back on Holder or even ask a few tough questions.
Then there’s the announcement former Senator Tom Dashcle will be Secretary of Health and Human Services. Not only is Dashcle one of the most polarizing, partisan figures in Washington, he has been working as a health care lobbyist since being defeated for re-election in 2004. The wolf will now be guarding the chicken coop. This must be the No lobbyist Left Behind part of Obama’s new politics. More change I don’t believe in.
But here’s the best part. Barring divine intervention, it appears President-elect Obama intends to nominate Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State. If I’m one of the millions of democratic primary voters who chose Obama based on his no vote on Iraq and Hillary’s refusal to admit she was wrong, I want my money back. During the campaign for change, Obama continuously referenced Hillary’s lack of judgment when she voted to authorize invading Iraq yet he intends to reward her by making her the senior representative of American foreign policy. You can be sure the Islamic extremists will remember who voted for war. If there were a Department of Extramarital Affairs, I assume ex-rival Sen. John Edwards would be a lock for the job.
So as our country hurtles toward absolute financial collapse, the Clinton (I mean Obama) transition team is focused on Hillary and whether the ethically challenged former president’s finances can pass the smell test. I’d like to think the Obama folks are giving at least as much thought to assembling a financial team who can stop the bleeding and get this country moving again. Then again, I thought I was voting for real change on November 4th.