Boston Globe: US POLITICAL DCEVELOPMENTS- Obama betraying the left defends experienced, centrist team - by Joseph Williams
US POLITICAL DCEVELOPMENTS - Obama betraying the left defends experienced, centrist team - by Joseph Williams
President-elect Barack Obama, rejecting liberals' criticism of his emerging Cabinet, yesterday strongly defended his decision to choose more experienced, centrist aides for his inner circle, arguing that the nation needs sure hands in a time of turmoil - and that it's his job to bring the change he promised voters.Liberal activists contend that Obama so far has gone too far in one direction, bringing in too many of the same Washington insiders and undermining his own message of change. Obama, they complain, hasn't given a top Cabinet job to a true liberal, and grumble about the expected appointments of rival Hillary Clinton - a centrist Democrat - as Obama's secretary of state an of Robert M. Gates, a Republican appointed by President Bush, to stay on as defense secretary for at least a year.Liberal bloggers, who helped fuel Obama's grass-roots fund-raising and volunteer armies, are particularly vocal in their critique of Obama's choices so far.
Bloggers on the left are also taking credit for forcing John Brennan, a former top CIA deputy in the Bush administration and Obama’s national security adviser during the campaign, to withdraw Tuesday from consideration as the next CIA director. In recent weeks, the bloggers mounted an online campaign sharply criticizing Brennan, associating him with Bush's decisions on harsh interrogations and torture though he publicly opposed waterboarding and questioned other interrogation methods.
Labels: Barack Obama, US
