Someone PLEASE take Obama's copy of "Team of Rivals" away from him!

[leftstreet]

Don't get me wrong. The book is terrific, but Civil War era America has ZERO to do with America's current problems. Economics, foreign policy, trade, imperialist occupation.

Americans have MORE in common with each other than the clamorous either/or political teevee climate would have us think.

If Obama really wants a modern day "team of rivals" he'd do better to stuff his Cabinet with Wall St brokers and Socialist Party members.

Someone take that book away from him!

[WI_DEM]

1. Oh for God sake! calm down--Obama hasn't made one single cabinet choice yet

and people around here are freaking out. People need to get a grip around here.

[apnu]

33. no kidding. This thing with that book has more to do with media hype than Obama reading it.

Honestly, I thought the hysteria would dissipate after the GE. Boy I was wrong, it seems to have elevated since we won. Geeze people are out of control here.

[Bicoastal]

2. You're right, we should be listening to YOU!

Why didn't we elect you president? :eyes:

[ellacott]

3. Funny

:)

[leftstreet]

5. Hey he should put me in his Cabinet, I could represent the Working Class

At least we'd have a relevant "team of rivals."

[Bicoastal]

6. And Joe the Plumber for Secretary of the Treasury? Sounds great.

[leftstreet]

14. Well, Paulson has clearly never had to fix a plugged drain

[truedelphi]

19. Actually Paulson served as Assistant to Ehrlichman under Nixon and Nixon DID HAVE

A TEAM OF PLUMBERS. (You cannot make this stuff up!)

They may have bungled their operation at Watergate, but at least a great deal of putridity went down the drain with that mess...

[leftstreet]

21. Nice one!

"a team of plumbers"

That's clever!

:o

[truedelphi]

25. Ironically, in 1973 I was an underwriter for an insurance company

In Chicago that handled "Golden Parachutes" as one of their products.

All of us who sat at Underwriting Desks were under thirty.

We handled many applications from people inside Nixon's WH. (For all I know, Paulson's app could have been one of them!) Although at that point in time, we had no idea that Nixon and his henchmen would soon be given a one way ticket out of the WH (and in some cases into prison) we declined all WH applications.

This was simply due to all of us hating the war in Vietnam. We simply wrote out letters of decline, all of which were formal, but which contained far fewer niceties than usual. (For instance, We did not use the term "We regret to decline" - I think we simply stated "Your application has been declined.") Often we did this while jubilantly announcing to others on the team, "I just declined So and So! of such and such a position at the WH!"

Would management have approved of us doing this if they had known? Possibly not - But in short order those decisions of us underwriting pacifists turned out to be profitable ones for that firm.

[midnight]

13. That is not a bad idea.... When was working america last heard

about other than election time?

[greguganus]

15. I did write leftstreet in for prez when I voted the 2nd time. n/t

[liberal N proud]

4. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The sky is falling

[midnight]

12. Hey is that Jimmy sennenbrenner?

[MNDemNY]

7. Do not question "that one".

[TwilightGardener]

8. LOL! I agree. There's an argument to be made for including people in your

administration who have different backgrounds and viewpoints--even those of the opposition party--but who are still reliable, loyal and have integrity. William Cohen, I thought, was a good example of that. Then there's putting someone who's very ambitious (and married to an equally ambitious, powerful person) into a seat of power who has not always demonstrated knowledge, good judgment, integrity and competence--and may have self-serving motives that run counter to your agenda. Just, you know, hypothetically speaking...

[leftstreet]

10. Exactly

"hypothetically speaking"

:D

[Skwmom]

11. Boy did you ever hit the nail on the head.

[Skwmom]

9. I'm beginning to think it's just a cover story for some really, really, really bad

choices.

[truedelphi]

18. Having the same thoughts here. n/t

[thereismore]

16. He's also reading about FDR (J Alter's book). Calm down or run for office! nt

[leftstreet]

17. That's not much better. FDR = WWII

Obama should be reading "Shock Doctrine"

[thereismore]

30. You are very negative. FDR's first 100 days were great. That's what the book is about. nt

[Two Americas]

20. this "team of rivals" thing

While Lincoln did include men from his own party who competed for the party nomination - Chase, Seward and Bates - and men from the other party - Blair, Welles, and Stanton - they were all opposed to slavery. They were not rivals in the sense of "having different opinions" or different goals or principles.

The way people are using the Lincoln "team of rivals" concept bears more resemblance to Buchanan's cabinet, which included slavery and anti-slavery people.

Bi-partisanship for the sake of bi-partisanship, for the purpose of "getting things done" without specifying what those things are nor whom they would benefit is actually the opposite of what Lincoln did.

It could be part of some clever strategy, yes, as many here want us to believe, but nevertheless we have a duty to speak out about it and any clever strategy would need to take that into consideration.

[leftstreet]

22. You make a good point.

It's the punditocracy and pols using it inappropriately to suggest that Americans are deeply divided and need representation of those divisions.

Hogwash.

Our economic interests unite us.

[Two Americas]

23. uniting us

There is no way to unite those who would tear down and exploit the public infrastructure and resources, and those defending the people from that.

[w4rma]

27. Lincoln's Cabinet was far more dysfunctional than Doris Kearns Goodwin's book would have us believe.

Lincoln and the myth of 'Team of Rivals'
President Lincoln's Cabinet was far more dysfunctional than Doris Kearns Goodwin's book would have us believe.
…
Consider this inconvenient truth: Out of the four leading vote-getters for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination whom Lincoln placed on his original team, three left during his first term -- one in disgrace, one in defiance and one in disgust.
…
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-pinsker18-2008nov18,0,1360359.story

[Two Americas]

28. disgrace - Cameron, yes

Cameron was corrupt as Hell. Chase was a constant source of trouble.

I thought that the value of the book was its exploration of the role that the wives and daughters played in the administration, not the "team of rivals" thing.

I agree with the LATimes writer there - "his model for Cabinet-building should stand more as a cautionary tale than as a leadership manual."

[Thrill]

24. I think the media is going with this Team of Rivals crap more than Obama

.

[Two Americas]

29. agreed

No need to ever watch TV, just come here and see what everyone is talking about. I wish people were not so easily manipulated by the MSM.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

26. He seems very, very naive!

I question his judgment as the days go by.

[ellacott]

31. Wow

You all are too much for me. This naive man beat the Clinton machine and the right wing machine.

Unfuckingbelievable!!

[Stuckinthebush]

32. Jesus...you must be joking

I swear, I thought DU would be boring after the win.