What If... A President Obama appointed Republicans to his cabinet.
Obama is interesting for a democrat, He freely talks about his religion and has a very clear definition of it available on his website. Not the hard line fire and brimstone of the right but he is unapologetic about being Christian. he has started to criticize and point to parents as failing their children in some way , diet and schooling, and even if only joking



He has had the temerity to acknowledge the influence Reagan had on America and why he was the leader whose vision regained power for the GOP after a long time in the wilderness.
Even though his politics goes against mine I happen to like this

Now some of it is obviously he is weak in certain areas and he knows it so appointing a Republican to certain positions would be a politically smart move -- although I wouldn't mention JFK's choice of Mcnamara.
Bloomberg has hinted heavily he is interested in a spot under either candidate and is a popular name. Hagel has been mentioned as a possible defense secretary and Lugar as well. True many in the GOP consider them RINOs but only the political geeks, the rest of Americans have lives.

Assuming he wins the POTUS would this be a good idea for Obama to appoint from across the aisle?

Would/Could a Republican accept?

Would the Democrats and their core live with the choice or sabotage any efforts to try?

and the 25 cents question of the day, Is that Change?

1) In a way he would need to make this promise BEFORE he got elected POTUS in order to sway these Republicans that are sick of Republicans I hear so much about. Afterward it really wouldn't make much difference. Especially if he's looking at RINOs. Using your examples Obama appears to be a DINO but that's only due to what you're showing us.

2) Of course they would.

3) Sabotage. Should Obama win the dKOS/MoveOn.org/HuffPo types wouldn't be happy with anything short of frog-marches and death sentences for registered Republicans and Christians.

4) Nothing ever changes.

Assuming he wins the POTUS would this be a good idea for Obama to appoint from across the isle?
Is he moving the White House to an island? Do you mean aisle?

It wouldn't be a good idea; it would be a great idea. I understand why this is tradition, but it limits the President's options by 50%. Picking the best person for a job should be common sense, but when power and money collide with common sense, power and money prevail. I hope he wins and I hope he does all the things he says that he is going to do. However, when he doesn't, I won't be surprised.

Would/Could a Republican accept?
Yes and Yes. From a party standpoint it would give the Republicans the ability to influence policy without controlling the White House. It would make for an interesting mid-term election when Obama tries to campaign for Democratic candidates for Congress and his Republican cabinet members are supporting his opponents. Only time will tell. With that said though, Barack Obama is an unknown. We don't really know what to expect of him. We know what we want, but not what we are going to get. Four years from now, we could be dismissing him as too naive and wishing we had voted for Hillary Clinton because she had a proven track record.

Would the Democrats and their core live with the choice or sabotage any efforts to try?
Democrats are open-minded and willing to accept these sorts of reforms. Republicans are the close-minded ones. So yes, they could live with it.

and the 25 cents question of the day, Is that Change?
I can't say I am informed on Presidential cabinet members party affiliation. Has any other President in the history of the United States done this? If no, then of course it is change. If yes, then it's more of the same. I want change, I expect more of the same.

Assuming he wins the POTUS would this be a good idea for Obama to appoint from across the aisle?

I think some carefully selected Republicans might not be a bad idea.

John F. Kennedy appointed C. Douglas Dillon Treasury Secretary. So, there is a historical precedent to support this.

http://www.ustreas.gov/education/history/s.../cddillon.shtml

Would/Could a Republican accept?

Yes! I think there are several moderate to liberal Republicans who might accept. Lincoln Chafee, for example, doesn't have a job right now. Chuck Hagle is retiring.

Would the Democrats and their core live with the choice or sabotage any efforts to try?

I think Democrats could/would live with a couple of Republican nominees. I think the Senate would confirm the two Republicans I named, but not someone like Trent Lott.

and the 25 cents question of the day, Is that Change?

Any bipartisan effort in Washington is change.

Assuming he wins the POTUS would this be a good idea for Obama to appoint from across the aisle?

I think he should even go so far as to appoint some repubican deficit and spending hawks to his cabinet- that would be not only a good policy, it would go a very long way to healing the nation. How amazing a gesture would that be? It would be not only a really, really good political move, it would help put a muzzle on right wing bloggers that make all these crazy claims and then e-mail them around the country.

Would/Could a Republican accept?

An honorable one with thoughts towards the good of his country instead of the good of his party would do just that. In fact, I would say it is his/her patriotic duty to do so.

In fact, the first thing I would do is appoint a western lawmaker/governer to make handle land use issues- a real problem in the west today, and needing some bi-partisan efforts to find a compromise on a plethora of land use issues. It needs to have buy-in by all parties involved as much as possible.

Would the Democrats and their core live with the choice or sabotage any efforts to try?

One thing that I believe Dems have evolved in the last few years is the lessons they have learned when they were in total power- something the Repubicans ignored during thier time. Getting a buy in from the whole nation, and having help from Republicans in doing this, helps thier party as well. A peaceful electorate is much more likely to retain an incumbant!

and the 25 cents question of the day, Is that Change?

Almost a "duh" answer here?

I mean- the imperialist/dictatorship -goose-stepping to the republican party faithful beat - ya, this would be a 180* turnaround of change.

Assuming he wins the [Presidency] would this be a good idea for Obama to appoint from across the aisle?

Would/Could a Republican accept?

Would the Democrats and their core live with the choice or sabotage any efforts to try?

and the 25 cents question of the day, Is that Change?


1) Probably not. He probably should sink or swim with an entirely ebony cabinet not including Condi, Powell, or Watts.

2) Of course. We share public bathrooms.

3) No. This tactic is not new--it's been done before by both parties.

4) This is the big one: No one in the Obama camp tells us what "change" means, except he's going to pull us out of Iraq quicker than a cork from a wine bottle and raise those taxes. Right now, we have the world's largest GDP; a 5% unemployment rate; the stock market is still at a high historical mark, even with the problems in recent weeks; even in this newly rough econony, the Fed is predicting some GDP growth in 2008; and most of us can still buy a steak for dinner now and then.

I don't think we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater....

I agree... don't be surprised if, as the dust settles from the primary, Barack emerges like a deficit hawk. His books, speeches, and public comments are profuse with praise for people like Tom Colburn, who he called a "sincere fiscal conservative" in the Texas debate.

Now, he's going to attack the deficit with his words aimed squarely at the "three trillion dollar war in Iraq," -- but he's going to take that fight to John McCain with the language of fiscal conservatism.


Aaaaaay men! You can deride the lubby-dubby tenor of the Obama campaign all you want until your wife and children alone can sympathize, but anyone who could make land use issues an item on his bipartisan agenda would be a tonic for this country.

President Obama ( man, I like how that reads! ) should reach across the aisle for Republicans in his Cabinet and not for just some okie-doke position either. Something like a Secretary of Defense or maybe even Attorney General. That's doubtful because after eight years out of power the pressure to appoint nothing but Democrats will be intense. Of course, if Obama wants to do something besides "politics as usual" a respected, moderate Republican in a high profile role would do a lot to bridge the political differences.

Would a Republican accept? Sure. How many loyal Americans are going to blow off an appeal from the President of the United States? Senators like Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar and Arlen Specter would probably accept a position, though I doubt Lugar agrees with Obama's world view or foreign policy enough to be a passionate advocate of it (and wants to spend the next four years flying around the world and living out of a suitcase).

Of course there would be Democrats and liberal/left-wing groups that would be ticked off if President Obama (or Clinton) passed up a loyal Democrat in favor of a Republican. When (not if) a Supreme Court vacancy opens up because John Paul Stevens, David Souter or Ruth Bader Ginsburg decide to hang it up, the pressure would be enormous to replace them with a solidly pro-choice and relatively young nominee. There is no shortage of willing and ready and extraordinary candidates for the High Court, but President Obama (or Clinton) would face revolt from the base should they offer up anything less than a liberal counterpoint to Alito, Thomas, Scalia and Roberts.

The prospect of the words "President" and "Obama" being in the same sentence without the conjunction between them is CHANGE in full effect.

1.) He would be forever remember as a healer after eight years of extreme political division. Assuming his tenure was relatively clean and well-meaning, Obama would become a top ten president.

2.) Power has an attractive appeal.

3.) Ultimately it would be their boy Obama in the top job, and through some legal red tape, he could remove whatever pesky Republican is being censured or just doing a bad job. Call me trusting, but I don't think he'd appoint lame ducks to important positions, and I don't think they'd be anything more than moderate.

4.) From the past spoils system, certainly.