Inexperienced and confused to say the least. The Iraq war will take the same path it is going to take no matter who’s in charge. Every politician in Washington knows that you can’t just pull out now. Know matter what they say in public, they know the U.S. would lose all credibility with the rest of the world if they just packed up and left. In my eyes, we would be leaving there soon no matter who was elected. The reason to be there is coming to an end.

because contrary to all of the premature trash talk aboout how he would be “soft” on terror, these picks show otherwise. While it is tempting to give Gates the boot, Obama wisely realizes that it would be a bad move during a transition.

Clinton is a strong choice because of her experience and naysayers can “suck on it” unless they have CONCRETE reasons to prove otherwise…she is strong and smart…and yet knows the importance of being flexible when it serves a greater purpose-something she demonstrated when she conceded to Obama’s inevitable nomination at the DNC this past summer.

Obama is far from perfect and will make mistakes as all presidents do, but we need to give him time to assemble his team and at least make some executive decisions before the villification starts.

don, we’ll cut Obama slack as much as you gave Bush.

Clinton is an interesting choice but I’m not necessarily opposed to it. She is more of a hawk on defense that Barack is and keeping Gates in places means we may actually protect our country. Clinton voted to go to war in Iraq when she saw the same intelligence that Bush did and now Obama will be seeing the same intelligence….that the bad guys really are evil. Perhaps Clinton will be able to convince Obama that loving our enemies just won’t work.

…”we’ll cut Obama slack as much as you gave Bush.” So, let me see if I’ve got this right. When “they” were giving Bush such a hard time, in your opinion, it was just wrong but now it’s your turn you’re going to give it them back and it’s perfectly OK? Sounds a bit like something one would hear on the playground don’t you think? Not many were giving Bush a hard time right out of the gate like you seem to be ready to do but it’s a free country. Right? It is isn’t it?

I don’t understand Obama selecting Hillary any more than her wanting the job. I mean everyone knows her ultimate goal is to be in the big chair in 2012 so why not work towards that as Senator? If she is Sec of State she will be Obama’s agent and in no way independent to her own ideas.

I don’t know if Senator Clinton will be a good Secretary of State or not, but it’s a brilliant choice politically.

It’s like the old axiom “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” If Senator Clinton is in President Obama’s cabinet, running against him in 4 years if Obama falters will make her look bad to the powers that be in the Democratic Party. She’d probably have to quit the post to run against him, and that would make her look bad as well.

If things go well, and Obama is shoe in for the nomination in 2012, she’ll be John McCain’s age when she gets another crack at it in 2016 and she may not want the hassle.

President Elect Obama could have done a lot worse with both of these picks.

Obama in White House with control of both houses-Economy is looking bad and Hillary as Sec of State? Just shoot me!

LP said: “we’ll cut Obama slack as much as you gave Bush.” I’ve heard this several places now, and I finally have to remind these people – Bush lost the Popular vote, did you really expect him to be a Popular President?

Even aside from his uncommon method of securing the Presidency (despite the will of the people), he came into office and acted as if he had been given an absolute Mandate. He reshaped everything he touched to please himself and his party, and bi-partisanship be d@mned. None of this exactly endeared him to the media. Bush might have had a hard time (excepting the overwhelming support he was shown after 9-11) but it was largely of his own making.

To be more on topic, Obama’s picks so far show his willingness to search for expertise wherever it lies – with the other party (Gates) or even with political enemies (Clinton). This centrist and pragmatic approach is in spite of his win in the popular vote (53% to 46%) and resounding victories for his party in both the House and the Senate. In other words, despite having a mandate, he is taking a more centrist approach – which is a Big change from the past 8 years.

Obama reminds me of that inexperienced backwoodsman from Illinois who was a failure in almost every endeavor he was engaged. Why, that “particular” man from Illinios even appointed his archrivals including Wm. Seward, Ed Bates, Salmon Chase, and even the infamous Ed Stanton….
How suprising. How interesting. Obama’s presidency is doomed for failure. All because of his inexperience and lack of political insigh and reasoning.

What a shame…Such a strong, thoughtful, and energetic young man.

To hell with what it means about his foreign policy, it demonstrates the “Constitutional scholar” isnt much of a scholar at all.
“No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office.”
(Article I, Section 6, clause 2)

Are we going to have 4 years of him disregarding the Constitution whenever it suits him?

Now if CLinton were not barred by that pesky document called Constitution, I dont see what her qualifications are. She has no experience in State, or running anything, much less the State department. Without the Clinton name, she is less qualified than Not-So-Bright.
The decision to keep Gates is a good one. We are so very close to complete victory in Iraq, it would be a shame if Obama lost it for us now. By keeping Gates, and troops on the ground, Obama will take credit for victory in a war he actively campaigned against and wouldnt even discuss the possibility of our victory, he just mentioned ending the war, never winning it.
Holder for AG? Is this some kind of joke? Rich, FALN, Elian, Waco. Read up on them, you should hear them alot during his conformation hearing.