The Obama transition and cabinet

[skdadl]

The Dem senators let Lieberman keep his chairmanship of Heimat Security (42-13, apparently, which means that new sens were voting). Disgusting.

[pogge]

I don't think Democratic Senators understand the way the world works now.

At Firedoglake:Take The Pledge: “I Will Work To Defeat Joe Lieberman in 2012?

And a comment to a diary by kos:

I hope [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid is as forgiving when we all support his primary challenger.

The "angry left" are the ones who are raising money and organizing on the 'net. They're the future of the Democratic party if Dems are going to differentiate themselves from Republicans by appealing to people instead of to corporations and their lobbyists. And Democratic Senators just spit in their collective face.

[skdadl]

More gossip, this time about the AG. I know very little more about Holder than what you see there. He's been the DAG, which means he'll go in knowing how to run the place. I presume he's as disgusted as most people are with what happened to the department through the Bush years, but I don't know his politics or whether he'd be capable of standing up to the prezzie, which is often needed.

[skdadl]

Oh. Let me amend that last post with a quote from bmaz at EW's place:

A pitiful, horrid and despicable pick. The fucker should be Borked. Now I must go scrape my head off that wall.

I expect to learn more in time, but I'd bank on bmaz's legal assessments. Oh, well. Sigh.

[Toedancer]

Oh My, juicy. With Rich, Libby and Holder in the News — It’s Like 2001 All Over Again

Pardon Mess Thickens, 2001

[skdadl]

I'm not sure, but I think the fact that Rich is so much the baby of the AIPAC lobby implicates too many people on all sides for many Republicans to want to resurrect this story. Libby was Rich's lawyer at the time, and there are stories about Israeli pressure to get that pardon, so.

Odd coincidences: Comey was the USA (in Virginia, at that point) who tracked Rich down in Switzerland and informed him that he wasn't getting off, would have to make a plea, to which Rich said no deal. Then a few years later, Comey was furious at Clinton for pardoning Rich, but then Comey became USA in NY and led the investigation of the pardon, eventually clearing Clinton and all concerned. And then a few years after that, Comey became DAG and appointed Fitz to investigate the Plame leaks, which ended with Fitz charging and convicting Libby. Small world, eh?

[skdadl]

Well, here is Glenn Greenwald on Holder, the best assessment I've seen yet, and Glenn is fairly positive.

I got to Glenn, btw, from a serious attack on Holder at FDL precisely on the grounds of the counsel Holder gave to Chiquita Brands when the question of their murky dealings in Colombia were being further mucked up by the DoJ. (Kitty and I wrote to this some time ago -- disgusting story, involves Chertoff.) Here is Glenn's response to such charges:

I've seen some attempts to criticize Holder based upon clients he has represented while in private practice, most notably his defense of Chiquita Brands in a criminal case brought by the DOJ arising out of Chiquita's payments and other support to Colombian death squads.  Attempts to criticize a lawyer for representing unsavory or even evil clients are inherently illegitimate and wrong -- period.   Anybody who believes in core liberties should want even the most culpable parties to have zealous representation before the Government can impose punishments or other sanctions.  Lawyers who defend even the worst parties are performing a vital service for our justice system.  Holder is no more tainted by his defense of Chiquita than lawyers who defend accused terrorists at Guantanamo are tainted by that.

[Toedancer]

I wonder if a corporate lawyers group exists that include in their mission statement, they only represent clients/corps that 'do no harm'?

[skdadl]

I think that Glenn's point is that that would be unethical in a democracy, where everyone is presumed to have the right to competent counsel.

I'm sure that individual lawyers make decisions about individual clients, and at some points in any relationship they have to give some clients teh bad news and then quit if teh client won't behave.

But the principle that everyone deserves competent counsel is about as bedrock as we get.

[pogge]

Tom Daschle to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.

[skdadl]

Reuters reports that Janet Napolitano will become secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

This is interesting because, even though DHS is an awful department, currently led by an Awful Person (Michael Chertoff, aka the Skeletor), Napolitano sounds terrific. As I wrote somewhere above, bmaz at EW's place was plumping for her as AG, and if bmaz likes her, that's a high recommendation.

Perhaps she will have a civilizing influence on Peter Van Loan.  

[Toedancer]

Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet

"It's astonishing that not one of the 23 senators or 133 House members who voted against the war is in the mix," said Sam Husseini of the liberal group Institute for Public Accuracy.

Clinton, who was Obama's chief opponent during the Democratic presidential primaries, appears to be the top candidate for secretary of State in his administration. Speculation about Clinton has dismayed some liberal activists but has cheered some conservatives such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and editor William Kristol of the Weekly Standard.

[skdadl]

Ok: who stole the kitchen sink?

[deBeauxOs]

Someone threw it at Obama's transition cabinet?

[pogge]

Clinton Decides to Accept Post at State Dept., Confidants Say
Here's the second paragraph.

The apparent accord between perhaps the two leading figures in the Democratic Party climaxed a week-long drama that riveted the nation’s capital.

No, it riveted the Beltway press corps because they hate the Clintons and are arrogant enough to think that because they do, everyone else should too. Everyone else has been somewhat curious about the outcome for a variety of reasons but were actually paying attention to other issues as well.