Why don't we stop worrying about race, gender, party affiliation or what-the-eff-ever and worry about the frickin' ISSUES. Why can't we look at the great ideas these people have; we could look at what they've done and will do. I'm so sick of "I'm with him cuz he's black, or she's a woman, or he's a veteren."
Sheesh and a half, people. This world needs to grow up a bit and stop acting like high school cliques. By the way, it's women like these that make us look bad.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/22/women.cabinet/index.html
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- What's made up of five women, four African-Americans, three Latinos, two Republicans and two Asians, including a Nobel Prize winner?
A poll shows 71 percent of Americans approve of Barack Obama picking Hillary Clinton for secretary of state.
The answer: President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet.
Obama is taking the big-tent approach to governing and wanted a Cabinet that stretches the tent wide.
"I think people will feel that we followed through on our commitment to make sure that this is not only an administration that is diverse ethnically, but it's also diverse politically and it's diverse in terms of people's life experience," Obama said December 16.
It might be diverse, but not everyone is happy. Some women's groups are disappointed. Among Obama's strongest backers during the election, they now say they don't have enough seats at the table.
That's because of Obama's 20 announced Cabinet-level posts, five went to women: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary, Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, Rep. Hilda Solis as labor secretary, Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador and Lisa Jackson as Environmental Protection Agency chief. Watch more on what it takes to get a job with the Obama administration »
"When you are looking at a Cabinet and you have such a small number of women in the room when the big decisions are being made, there need to be a lot more women's voices in this administration," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women.
Bill Clinton and President Bush each had a comparable number of women in their first Cabinets, but women's groups say they hoped they'd make progress.
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Amy Siskind, co-founder of the nonpartisan group New Agenda, accuses Obama of taking "shocking steps backward" and said "this constituency does not matter to the president-elect."
Obama has said he's picking people for their skills and not pandering to special interests.
"In this case, we have seen Obama emphasize credentials," said Anne Kornblut of The Washington Post. "I think they obviously knew they would get a lot of bang for their buck, so to speak, in appointing Clinton, but at the end of the day, the numbers really aren't any more impressive than any previous president."
But a national poll released December 3 suggests that Americans think Obama's getting it right when it comes to his Cabinet picks, especially in choosing Clinton and keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates on.
Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey approve of Obama's Cabinet choices, with 22 percent disapproving.
That's 16 points higher than those in favor of President-elect Bush's Cabinet picks eight years ago.
The poll indicates that 71 percent approve of Obama picking Clinton for secretary of state. Democrats overwhelmingly approve of the choice, with two-thirds of independents agreeing and Republicans evenly split on the pick.
But it's not just women who are angry with Obama's choices. Other factions in the Democratic Party are, too.
Many gay and lesbian supporters are irate over Obama choosing Pastor Rick Warren to lead the invocation at the historic January 20 inauguration.
Warren, one of the most influential religious leaders in the nation, has championed issues such as a reducing global poverty, promoting human rights and fighting the AIDS epidemic.
But the founder of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, has also adhered to socially conservative stances -- including his opposition to gay marriage and abortion rights -- that put him at odds with many in the Democratic Party, especially the party's most liberal wing. Watch more about the Warren controversy »
"[It's] shrewd politics, but if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now," political commentator Andrew Sullivan wrote on the Atlantic Web site last week.
Some progressives, meanwhile, are also disappointed that Obama has tapped moderates for key positions.
People for the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert told CNN that she is "deeply disappointed" about the choice of Warren and said the powerful platform at the inauguration should instead have been given to someone who has "consistent mainstream American values."
Linda Douglass, a spokeswoman for Obama, defended the choice of Warren, saying, "This is going to be the most inclusive, open, accessible inauguration in American history." iReport.com: What do you think about Obama's cabinet picks?
"The president-elect certainly disagrees with him on [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] issues," Douglass said. "But it has always been his goal to find common ground with people with whom you may disagree on some issues."
So the questions are: Has he made the tent too big? And does he risk alienating his core supporters before he's even taken office?
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2 comments:
I didn't read that whole article because you can get the gist of it by the beginning and skimming the rest...but I COMPLETELY agree with you. Some of that crap gets annoying. Maybe this is wrong of me to say, and I'm not really sure how to explain it so it doesn't sound bad, but...
I think we should all focus on the things that affect HUMANITY (like you said, the ISSUES). Not these women or those blacks, or whoever. I know that this country is messed up and what race you are can be to your benefit or demise. But at the same time, continuing to focus on these aspects and this negativity isn't going to help us bridge the gaps. I think we need to realize we're all people and just work together regardless of who is involved. I really started to feel this way when I was an RA at UM. I feel like so much is focused on recognizing differences...which I think differences are obviously what makes us each individuals and beautiful...but when we want to solve problems, we need to focus on a common goal and put aside the color of our skin or our pasts or our religion or gender. Yeah, we should learn about history and culture, but when it comes down to it, our country is a melting pot; that requires having a mix of different people all in the same pot in the same game, facing the same things, in it together. I know that is a broad explanation, but the thing is...we're all humans. We all feel. We all struggle. We all have our successes. If we could just come to a time when we can celebrate our joys together and use our own strengths not for selfish reasons but to help each other out, then things would be way better than they are today. I know I'm speaking ideally because not everybody feels the same way and it's not as easy as it sounds. But I think the place to start is with one person...and that definitely includes you...like when you talk to people or post blogs like this about your opinion. It's very important to do and I am thankful there are people like you who care and work to make a difference.
I guess if there was one thing to focus on it would be, probably obviously, socio-economic status. To me, that is what is really causing the gaps in society, beyond race or gender. But that's a discussion for another time.
I'm not sure if you agree with my poor explanation of my thoughts, but I just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in because it's important to me, too. I hope I don't sound too insensitive, but I'm just being honest.
I definitely agree with alot of that, Les!
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