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Read other letters about this article
first off, Joan, Mumbai, Obama, Thanksgiving, eck, the column was a weird stretch but I'll go with you were enjoying a little wine with family and friends on the holiday and let yourself go a bit.
As for Obama and his admin, I'll admit I want the Clintons devoid of power, as far away from centers of power as possible, to me they, well Bill more than Hil, leave a trail of slime where ever they have passed. Regardless, I am not Obama and it is not my call. He's going the Lincoln route with the 'Team of Rivals' idea though I think it is more the 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' approach.
In the end though, as he as recently explained to his critics, the agent of change is Obama. The onus and expectation his on him to approach governing differently than before. However, Washington is a complex, incestuous, slime laden, Byzantium place and one needs people who under the ins and outs of it to get things done.
Certainly Obama, like Lincoln, will be a great listener to those he has surrounded himself with but he has said that policy will be coming from top down not bottom up. He'll take the advice on say the economy and using that package a response. On that individual topic I haven't been overwhelmed by the government's (and Obama's agreement with and support of) response. But his recent overtures, to opening consumer and commercial lines of credit are better though not the best solution. In reality, China, of all places, is taking the best approach to saving Capitalism, an almost WPA plan to invest $600B in infrastructure, railroads, airports and so on. Put the people to work. Saving Goldman Sachs isn't going to put food on the table or pay the bills. But I digress...
...so like many, I am not thrilled with may of Obama's choices but if he governs as he says he will, but issuing challenges for change and then tasking those he has selected to bring about that change then I think we'll be ok. I can think of nothing worse than the opposite, where he has replaced standard Republican power elites with Democrat power elites and makes no effort to bring about any change.
But this isn't a network tv series, we must have a bit of patience to see how it will turn out.
