Obama to keep Bush's secretary of Defense.......

[djsence]

Robert Gates has agreed to stay on as Secretary of Defense for President-elect Barack Obama. From ABC:

Gates, while a registered independent, has served numerous Republican administrations. President George W. Bush nominated Gates to replace the Donald Rumsfeld after the 2006 midterm elections, when the war in Iraq was spiraling out of control.

The former Eagle Scout is expected to be rolled out immediately after the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend as part of a larger national security team expected to include Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, as Secretary of State; Marine Gen. Jim Jones (Ret.) as National Security Adviser; Admiral Dennis Blair (Ret.) as Director of National Intelligence; and Dr. Susan Rice as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Another smart Cabinet pick from Mr. Obama. Robert Gates was recently praised by U.S. News and World Report as being one of America's best leaders, and always appeared to be the one adult within the Bush Administration. The selection of Sec. Gates provides continuity and will, no doubt, provide some assurances to the Pentagon that Mr. Obama has no intention of being disruptive.

[djthebandit]

Doesn't really surprise me.

[HexRei]

I'm more worried about this Attorney General pick, Eric Holder, who is on record saying he thinks there needs to be more censorship and control of what is said on the internet, and that although the courts have traditionally struck such legislation down, he was going to find a way to get it through.

[Cedwyn]

but he's the AG now and plays no legislative role. all he gets to do is enforce what laws are there. and the people obama has in line for the FCC are strong net neutrality advocates. i doubt they'd go for much in the way of censorship.

[seattle science]

Originally posted by Cedwyn
but he's the AG now and plays no legislative role. all he gets to do is enforce what laws are there. and the people obama has in line for the FCC are strong net neutrality advocates. i doubt they'd go for much in the way of censorship.

Why was there ever a stink about Alberto Gonzales, then, if his role is meaningless?

[Nukegrrrl]

Obama seems to be picking a lot of opposition and "devil's advocate" types. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

[burnt]

Originally posted by seattle science
Why was there ever a stink about Alberto Gonzales, then, if his role is meaningless?

because he stepped outside of his role. but I'm sure Mr. Holder would *NEVER* do that!

/snark

[HexRei]

Originally posted by Cedwyn
but he's the AG now and plays no legislative role. all he gets to do is enforce what laws are there. and the people obama has in line for the FCC are strong net neutrality advocates. i doubt they'd go for much in the way of censorship. he may not be able to introduce legislation, but he still has a lot of power in terms of interpreting the law (before it reaches the court), deciding who is indicted of what, and what investigations are conducted in the first place.

so there is still a ton of room to impose his agenda which scares me.

[IrisSilverMoon]

Originally posted by Nukegrrrl
Obama seems to be picking a lot of opposition and "devil's advocate" types. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

he says he wants people in office that will argue with him.

its not an uncommon strategy, hopefully this will give him lots of perspective from many different points of view.

[Andromeda.]

or it could just set the stage for some really awesome sabotage from within!

*puts on tinfoil hat*

[B_tech]

Originally posted by seattle science
Why was there ever a stink about Alberto Gonzales, then, if his role is meaningless?
Because he had Bush's backing to violate laws, so he did them with impunity.

I may be way off here, but I'm pretty sure Obama wouldn't green light waterboarding and warrantless wiretapping.

[More Wise]

my HOPE was that obama was gonna hang all these mofos or at least put them into labor camps for the rest of their lives and seize their assets...

what really gets me is how he wants to support israel, the new nazis.

but no.... im just going to stop voting now. i should have listened and not believed the hype

[Roddimus]

Originally posted by Cedwyn
but he's the AG now and plays no legislative role. all he gets to do is enforce what laws are there. and the people obama has in line for the FCC are strong net neutrality advocates. i doubt they'd go for much in the way of censorship.
bush was "opposed" to "torture" too. i wish i could trust the executive that much.

[budaho]

Originally posted by B_tech

I may be way off here, but I'm pretty sure Obama wouldn't green light waterboarding and warrantless wiretapping.

his senate record would indicate different