by Mark Silva
So the big news this weekend is President-elect Barack Obama's intentions of spending hundreds of billions of dollars to put more Americans to work, in the biggest public-works undertaking, perhaps, since the construction of the Interstate Highways.
The other news, as NBC News is happy to trumpet this evening from the interview that it conducted with Obama today and will air on Meet the Press Sunday morning, is that Obama intends to nominate Gen. Erick Shinseki for the post of Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The MTP interview, of course, plays on a special date in history, the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii -- birthplace of the 44th president.
"Tomorrow, you had mentioned earlier, is when we commemorate Pearl Harbor,'' Obama told NBC's Tom Brokaw, in the interview that will air tomorrow, "and so I'm going to be making (an) announcement tomorrow about the head of our Veterans Administration, General Eric Shinseki, who was a commander and has fought in Vietnam, Bosnia, is somebody who has achieved the highest level of military service.
"He has agreed that he is willing to be part of this administration because both he and I share a reverence for those who serve. I grew up in Hawaii, as he did,'' Obama said. "My grandfather is in the Punch Bowl National Cemetery. When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and, I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served -- higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate -- it breaks my heart, and I think that Gen. Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home.''
Tom Brokaw, interim host of MTP, noted that the good general "lost his job in the Bush Administration because he said we will need more troops in Iraq than Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld thought we would need at that time.''
"He was right,'' said Obama, who campaigned with a promise of withdrawing combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of his swearing-in as president.
(Above photo of Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, then Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, at Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in 2004 by Charles Dharapak, AP)
Comments
So does this mean Tammy Duckworth goes to the Senate?
Hope so.
Posted by: ornery | December 6, 2008 8:55 PM
Obama ran on an explicitly progressive platform, and Americans responded enthusiastically, flocking to his campaign in mind-numbing numbers — rallies topping 100,000 people, 12 million on his e-mail list, a staggering 3.1 million donors. Republicans frantically screamed, "Liberal!" and America responded with a "Right on!" and pulled the lever for the guy. Is that what a "center-right" nation does?
Does a "center-right" nation take a 30-seat Republican advantage in the House and turn it into an 80-seat Democratic advantage in just two election cycles? Does it take a 10-seat Republican advantage in the Senate and turn it into a near-filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the same time frame?
Nothing disproves the "center-right nation" fiction more clearly than the campaign Republicans just ran.
They spent the bulk of the election ranting about "celebrities," "tire gauges," "Rev. Wright" and "William Ayers," then capped it all off with the silly "Joe the Plumber" nonsense. Fear-mongering isn’t a hallmark of a party confident that its agenda is squarely in the American mainstream. Rather, it’s a sign of insecurity — that it can’t win votes by running on substance.
America finally reject the Republican Rove politics of fear, smear and division because substance was all the voting public wanted this cycle, and they proved it by electing the "liberal." i.e. Barack Obama.
Posted by: Herder | December 6, 2008 10:19 PM
It doesn't take a long ride around the block to find qualified people of color to fill critical positions like the GOP can't seem to do.
Obama's cabinet is beginning to look like the "Dream Team of Diversity".
Posted by: Edie | December 7, 2008 1:04 AM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-scahill/this-old-news-just-in-oba_b_148690.html
Posted by: he's not ending this war, kids--instant runoff 2nd choice ballots gets you a green party safely | December 7, 2008 8:30 AM
Many of us have become tired of the over load of political ramble over the past two years. There is a game server running a flight simulator game today in honor of Pearl Harbor. The Game is called IL-2 1946 and the group hosting the game is located at http://www.alliedwarmachine.com Why don't we all take a break from the insurmountable reality of our political and economical situations and reflect onto a time in the past when our fellow country men stood and rallied against another time of extreme hardship while honoring them in an enjoyable manor.
Posted by: IL-2 Flight | December 7, 2008 11:55 AM
Hope that Obama's choices of people to perform duties of critical positions should be the product of thorough thinking. Anyhow, Pearl Harbor Day must be commemmorated.
Posted by: News Review | December 7, 2008 1:48 PM
President-elect Obama has made a good choice in General Shinseki (ret.) for the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Now, we can relax and know that ideology will not prevent our Veterans from receiving the medical care they deserve, unlike during the Bush administrations.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, Chicago | December 7, 2008 2:19 PM
“by Mark Silva
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So the big news this weekend is President-elect Barack Obama's intentions of spending hundreds of billions of dollars to put more Americans to work, in the biggest public-works undertaking, perhaps, since the construction of the Interstate Highways.”
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Silva: You’re very modest in describing the breathtaking plans that P-E BHO has in store for public works. The cost of building the entire interstate highway system was only about $425 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. BHO plans to spend more than twice that much over the next two years just to repair it along with an undisclosed amount of other “infrastructure.” So, it’s not just the biggest “since the construction of the Interstate Highways.” It’s the biggest ever. Add it to all of BHO’s other spending plans and the $810 Wall Street bailout boondoggle (for which he voted) and the federal government will be spending the equivalent of an entire extra year’s budget within the next few years. And, of course, most of it will just get tacked onto the debt. (So much for change.)
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It’s too bad BHO can’t get the Interstate Highway System’s original planners back. They, at least, seemed to know how to spend a ridiculous amount of money without actually looking like they were spending a ridiculous amount of money.
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Herder: We know you and John E. like to gloat. But must you really keep posting the same non-responsive, boilerplate dreck over and over? I know I have already seen the same post, word-for-word, on at least one prior occasion. In fact, you directed it at me.
Posted by: John W. | December 8, 2008 6:40 AM