Two More Obama Appointees Withdraw
This is getting monotonous. Two more appointees have chosen not to proceed with the confirmation process. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has decided that the does not want to become Surgeon General. It seems from comments on the web as if he has decided that the post of spokesman for the Obama uniformhealth plan is not what he wants to do. Then there is Annette Nazareth, who was nominated to be come the Deputy Secretary of Treasury. Ms. Nazareth’s choice not to join Treasuruy is reportedly ‘a personal decision.’
The latest withdrawals make the Obama administration’s efforts to assemble a cabinet and commence governing look unusually fumbling. It is interesting to recall the months between the election and the inauguration. Democratic faithful, including NPR commentator Daniel Schorr, suggested that the time between the election and the inauguration was too long,that the new president would have his cabinet and administration running at full speed on day two. This, we were assured, was essential due to the ineptitude of the outgoing administration, andgthebrilliance of the President-Elect.
The latest withdrawals suggest that the propsal that the new president take office sooner may not be such a good idea. It looks as if Mr. Obama’s team needed more time, not less. Six weeks in, and the Obama administration is beginning to look a lot less polished, and a lot more like the previous administration. Not a good sign.
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Amateur hour
Yes, exactly, Michael. I thought of Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour. Somehow, I suspect this is not the kind of change many of the moderates thought they would receive from an Obama administration.
Probably two more tax cheats. Where did 0bama get his list of potential cabinet members, from the IRS unpaid tax department? What about Rahm Emmanuel, hasn’t he been living rent free in an apartment furnishged by a friend, and he hasn’t declared that as income.
Huh? I’m not seeing the incompetence here. Neither were ever officially nominated, though both seemed set to become nominated soon.
This is partially one of the side effects of news reporting, and perhaps partially an issue with taking so long to name them. People like Gupta have been murmured about as a potential nominee for so long that it’s assumed he’s already been nominated.
Maybe the incompetence here is an inability to get the job done sooner.