Of course November 4 was a glorious day and glorious evening.
Who can forget the pictures of the rejoicing and weeping people
in Grant Park, Chicago. And only the most churlish -- and racist
-- among us will refuse to take pride that we will soon have a
President Barack Hussein Obama, a self-described "mutt".
Yet, as the Republicans so eagerly reminded us, we really don't
know very much about this community organizer turned Senator
turned candidate. The less easily stampeded among us worried
about his eagerness to continue war in Afghanistan, and were
appalled at his blatant cave-in, when he supported the awful
FISA renewal act, with its "Get Out of Jail Free" card for
the powerful telecoms and its watering down of the Fourth
Amendment. And the less said about the already failed
bail-out the better; except to note that Obama voted for it.
We will very soon know a lot more about Obama, as his cabinet
appointments are announced. Up to now he has picked his Chief of
Staff, an old friend and colleague from Chicago. This is a
_personal_ appointment. Any president should have the right to
appoint who he wants as his personal servant, who he trusts to
carry out his wishes. (And it should be noted that Mr Emmanuel
has a record of advocating for liberal causes, such as protection
of children, and education).
But can it be that Mr Obama is seriously considering keeping on
Mr Gates? The Wall Street Journal says he is. If this is true
-- it is scarcely credible -- then Mr Obama has indeed swindled
his supporters and the American public. For if there is one
centerpiece to Obama's campaign, it has been his opposition to
the Iraq war. And if Mr Obama is going to carry this out, he
has to change a lot in the military.
and admirals forced into retirement because of their recognition
of and opposition to the Iraq crime and disaster; they can be
brought back. And there is, according to all reports, an even
greater number of colonels and commanders still in service who
would be happy to help rebuild our devastated military.
And Obama can find no Democrat to lead and supervise this
restructuring? This beggars belief. It is ridiculous.
But the WSJ may know more than I do. So I write to urge all
Obamamaniacs within earshot to be ready to scream, holler, jump
up and down . . . should this appointment take place. What we
can actually do I don't know. We've already shot the one bullet
in our arsenal; we've voted already. (Can someone invent a handy
rhyme akin to "Petraeus-Betrayus"?)
Let's hope the WSJ is wrong.
