Obama forced to deny abandoning 'change' for insider selects

[Midnight Mike]

Obama forced to deny abandoning 'change' amid insider appointments

Barack Obama defended his decision to pack his new Cabinet with veteran Washington insiders and former Clinton officials yesterday after a campaign in which he promised change.

The President-elect responded after naming the former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, a veteran of the Carter and Reagan Administrations, as the head of a new economic panel to stop “groupthink” infecting his inner circle of White House financial advisers.

There have been mounting concerns, particularly from the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, that Mr Obama has pivoted sharply to the centre-right with his choice of top Cabinet posts.

His main economic advisers have close ties to the Clinton White House and Mr Obama has already chosen Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State. His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, once served Bill Clinton, and more appointments still to be announced will include a slew of officials who served in the most recent Democratic Administration.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... t=0&page=1 (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5239776.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1)

[NIKV69]

There have been mounting concerns, particularly from the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, that Mr Obama has pivoted sharply to the centre-right with his choice of top Cabinet posts.



How can moveon.org or codepink or the extreme left not seen this coming? Obama duped many when he traveled this country promising free health care, immediate pull out of Iraq, attaacking greedy CEOs and big business with huge taxes and everything else to get votes. Now that he elected that is all gone. He has shown that he is going to govern very much the same as McCain would have. Now his goal is 2012 and nothing else. He will follow the current course in Iraq and cut taxes across the board and sign into law just about any bailout while the economy recovers in 2009. He will continue to make sure North Korea and Iran are kept in check and if he has to get agressive with any country or terrorist organization he will. Volcker was a no brainer and for the most part Obama had to pick this cabinent because when you get right down to it Obama has no idea what he is doing.