Politico still ignoring nominees with Southern backgrounds, still claiming Obama hasn't selected one
SUMMARY: A Politico article asserted that President-elect Barack Obama "hasn't given back" to the South "with an appointment" to his Cabinet, ignoring nominees who have spent many years living or working in the South.
In a December 19 article, Politico again asserted that President-elect Barack Obama "hasn't given back" to the South "with an appointment" to his Cabinet, ignoring nominees who have spent many years living or working in the South. The Politico article did not mention Environmental Protection Agency administrator-designate Lisa Jackson, who was raised in New Orleans and attended Tulane University, and made reference to Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, who was first lady of Arkansas for 12 years, without counting Clinton as a Southerner.
Politico also did not count as Southerners two Obama Cabinet nominees who have lived or worked in Texas, a part of the Confederacy: Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, Obama's choice as U.S. trade representative, who was born, raised, and has spent nearly his entire adult life in Texas; and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served as the president of Texas A&M University immediately before rejoining the government in 2006. Politico did describe Kirk as a "Texan[]" earlier in the article, but not as a Southerner.
By not counting any of these four Cabinet-level appointees as Southerners, Politico effectively set the standard that only those nominees who have spent their entire lives in parts of the South besides Texas can legitimately be described as Southerners.
From the December 19 Politico article by Carrie Budoff Brown and Nia-Malika Henderson:
Consider the scorecard: The centrist Democratic Leadership Council claims ties with half the group. Movement progressives count a single one, California Rep. Hilda L. Solis, a union favorite, at the Labor Department.
But if Obama gives with Solis, he takes away with free trade advocate and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, no union favorite, for trade representative.
[...]
Obama's Cabinet, which will be rounded out Friday with formal announcements for labor and transportation, is politically moderate and ethnically diverse. There are Ivy Leaguers and hoopsters, loyalists to Hillary Rodham Clinton and longtime allies of Obama, and Midwesterners, Westerners and New Yorkers. Texans filled 43's White House, but not 44's, with just one in Kirk.
[...]
Obama plans to install a Republican, Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois, at transportation, although he is considered a moderate. The president-elect also plans to keep President George W. Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates.
[...]
In terms of Southerners, the region delivered some of Obama's sweetest electoral victories, but he hasn't given back with an appointment. The West made out well, landing four Cabinet posts, and a half-dozen hail from the Midwest.
Lisa Jackson is still very much a Southerner. She was raised and educated here in New Orleans. She was staying with her mother in the Lower 9th Ward as Hurricane Katrina approached and drove her mother to safety.
First they say Clinton not a "Real" New Yorker" and now she's not a real "Southerner." You can't have it both ways folks. If you want us to buy that she was some kind of carpet-bagger when she ran for the Senate seat in NY, then you HAVE to coneded that it's legit to say she's from Arknsas. (Or at least the she has Southern cred!)
Gee, I knew that Obama wouldn't get a honeymoon with the Corporate Media hacks, but has a President ever had a honeymoon end two months before he takes office?
To be fair, bush II's first term honeymoon never happened.
Dext - Oh, really? Seems to me like the press gave Bush 6 years of a honeymoon and just finally started asking real questions after Katrina.
I was seemingly in another world then because I'm pretty sure he was lambasted for his judicial appointments and cabinent appointments well before that.
Yeah, and I'm sure your next reply will be that the press really asked those tough questions about WMD and 9/11 links to Iraq ...
Why all the obsession with the geographical makeup of the cabinet, and the "giving back"? Sounds like the media is encouraging the sort of "pay to play" politics that Obama had to avoid in ChiTown.
Is the South really underrepresented in the federal gov't, and if so, are Southerners complaining about it?
No, sir...Obama's giving us all 40 acres and a mule. Gotta make a living some way in this economy. ;>)
As a mattah a fack, Cunnel, AH am com-plainin' 'bout it. Us proud citizens of the Great an' Sov-yun State o' Luzi-ana have been shuffled off t' the sahd offen enough! Wah, Ah wood'n be sup'rized iffen that there O'Bama fella appointed a Yank-ee Dark-ie to th' Soup-preeem Coat!
Well, we all know Politico is just trying to play to their right-wing base with these stories. They also won't count Gates as a Republican because he switched "official" designation to Independent when he took his post. Beside, Politico does NO research and just throws out these stories. They probabloy have no idea who is from the south or how to even designate someone as such.
Which leads to this interesting question: Who CARES????
At Politico they think the Mason Dixon Line is a jazz ensemble. ;>)
When are my friends here ever going to learn? Just because MMFA says it, doesn't necissarily make it so.
The Environmental Protection Agency is not in the Cabinet so toss out Lisa Jackson.
U.S. Trade Representative is not a cabinet position. That knocks out Ron Kirk.
Obama did not appoint Robert Gates Secretary of Defense. Guess who did? Obama simply asked him to stay on.
And lastly, it is plain silly to include Hillary as from the South. She was born in Illinois, went Ivy League and married some guy from Arkansas before becoming Senator from N.Y. Some of our military have spent years in Irag, but we don't consider them Iraqis. If you want to say the Senator from NY is from the South, enjoy the koolaid.
(As an aside, I found it laughable that MMFA had to include the part about Texas being in the Confederacy. Must be because they didn't think their people reading their article knew about it. But then MMFA thinks the EPA and Trade Rep are cabinet positions so it is not surprising)
ps. Here are the cabinet positions:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Attorney General Eric Holder Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Secretary of Commerce Bill Richardson Secretary of Labor TBD Secretary of Healthand Human Services Tom Daschle Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood Secretary of Energy Steven Chu Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki Secretary of Homeland Security
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Cabinets
When are you gonna learn? If Obama selected the person, he selected one. You're parsing this like you're reciting Pi to 12 decimal places.
Nice catch AA...using the mmfa tactic of pointing out their misinformation by using their own words. Live by the sword...die by the sword.
AA, I know you like to complain about those "attaboy!" posts, but I'm gonna toss you one here. You may be missing the bigger point about the phony issue being created, but I think you're technically right, MMFA did refer to cabinet positions.I've been reading this site for 2 or 3 years off & on, and I've been rooting for you to nail one in your tireless quest. This is a big day, enjoy!
Attaboy!
Yes, EPA Administrator and US Trade Representative are Cabinet-level positions, not Cabinet positions. MMFA echoes Politico's sloppiness in not always noting the distinction.
Is Hillary not a southerner? and even if Obama just asked Gates to stay on, how is that not an appointment? Maybe some sloppiness here, but hey, let's be real, right?
I agree snoop...let's be real and drop the pretense of portraying Hillary as a southern girl just because she was forced to live in Arkansas for a few years.
If you'll agree that bush isn't a real texan then you've got a deal.
Suits me...you got a deal.
My point is that while AA is technically correct that Jackson and Kirk aren't up for Cabinet positions, but Cabinet-level positions, that doesn't invalidate MediaMatters' criticism of Politico, which also uses the terms somewhat interchangebly.
Besides, right before reading the Col.'s "Attaboy!" I had commented that AA was batting 0 for a million here and I'm not ready to say he's now 1 for a million and one.
As for the rest of it, talking about what qualifies someone as a southerner makes an already silly discussion even sillier.
It seems what Politico is grousing about is that Obama hasn't nominated anybody who they think of as a Southerner. Maybe they would like Obama to have nominated the reanimated corpse of Jesse Helms. Or of Jesse Duke. Or of Fred Thompson.
A true southerner, like a true conservative, are not an identifications that can be made by amatuers like ourselves. Takes anhexpert, from a pillage,..er, village.
By the way, there is no requirement anywhere a good resume has to be from any particular region of this ation. And by the way, look what a southerner got us into the last eight years. Sorry man, going around blaming Clinton for the economic downturn is not going to work.
"Politico" says "not one" (and MMFA agrees, it isn't one, it's three) because I'm sure they were looking for Sam Nunn (or Zel Miller) or the like to be appointed. BFD.
Respectfully, we have had 8 years of souhern representation in the white house and cabinet and I am sorry but the South no matter how proud doe not exclusive dibs on the best minds to get us out of this mess... I am from Cincinnati and we don't have a cabinet representitive either nor does the state of Ohio which at it's worse is on par with Texas!!!! . There is no Confererate States of America get over it!!!!