Comments on: Greatest Transition Ever strikes again

By: Barack Obama is Ivan Drago | Anonymous Finch

Barack Obama is Ivan Drago | Anonymous Finch — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:06:27 +0000

[...] administration is demonstrating profound incompetence, whether it be in its inability to staff key positions at the Treasury Department, or its repeated slights of close [...]

By: -1% Emperor Obama Fiddles While the U.S. Economy Burns « Uncategorized « Anonymous Finch

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:15:13 +0000

[...] Hotair.com has an update on this. Another one of the Administration’s nominees (technically a nominee-to-be) withdrew [...]

By: Obama fumbling on the economy « Crush Liberalism

Obama fumbling on the economy « Crush Liberalism — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:45:38 +0000

[...] with the economy being the supposed #1 priority of the country right now, we’d have more than one pick in the Treasury Dept. confirmed in two [...]

By: La transición de Obama: nombramientos y táctica política « Sarah Palin en Español

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:53:21 +0000

[...] Tras retirarse Nazareth, el nominado para Vice-secretario del Tesoro pasa a ser H. [Henry] Rodgin Cohen, experto en legislación bancaria. Pues nada, nada, sigamos con la tradición: el 12 de marzo George Stephanopoulos vuelve a contarnos en su blog que …¡adivinen!: Cohen se ha retirado del proceso (otra ves, via HotAir). [...]

By: Barack Obama is Ivan Drago | Obama Approval Rating Blog

Barack Obama is Ivan Drago | Obama Approval Rating Blog — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:34:54 +0000

[...] administration is demonstrating profound incompetence, whether it be in its inability to staff key positions at the Treasury Department, or its repeated slights of close [...]

By: bulgaroctonus

bulgaroctonus — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:02:37 +0000

Maybe these appointment fiascos are a blessing in disguise — the de facto shrinking of government due to a lack of minions to carry out its orders. When consrvatives come back into power — and, yes, I said “when,” not “if” — they will be able to point to the fact that we got along perfectly well in the Obama administration without such vital functionaries as an Assistant Deputy Under-Secretary for Thinking up Things to Put on Those Dumb Dollar Coins as a reason for eliminating these positions. In the meantime, my tax dollars don’t have to go to pay any salaries to these worthless bozos.

By: maggieo

maggieo — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:04:33 +0000

The answer to the question regarding appointments is quite simple.
In Australia we have a Public Service with permanent heads of departments. Some of these appointments are political, but they are professional public servants doing their job (most of the time – I certainly think that there has been one person who played politics before our last election – someone at the Reserve Bank who raised interest rates in an election year).

When the parties go to the polls the leader of the party with the majority becomes the Prime Minister. He elects his cabinet from the other elected officials in the parliament. Thus we have a Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Defence etc. etc.

The American system is extremely complex. It is not a real democracy in that the President appoints these people to do these same roles. People like Clinton the SOS are not elected to carry out those duties. Mind that role is more like an ambassador but it is similar to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The British system works in a similar way. When Tony Blair retired from politics Gordon Brown was nominated by his party to take Blair’s place. Brown is an elected official who holds a seat in the House of Representatives. The House of Lords is different because peers are nominated for life, yet they have obvious Labour etc. peers.

By: riverrat10k

riverrat10k — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:44:33 +0000

They don’t really have an ideology as such: their mantra is simply More Government. More Government means more money and power for its leaders

The trolls here and flunkies in the media and elsewhere can’t or won’t see this crucial reality, and seem to be driven by their personal problems towards attacking anyone who opposes The Party.

We shouldn’t be chatting or negotiating with these people; we should be defeating them in elections.

Janos Hunyadi on March 12, 2009 at 5:01 PM

And the Republicans are nearly as bad, Janos. Term limits may be part of the answer, loathe though I am to limit voters choices. No reason not to return a good person to congress. Just think there are only a handful of those.

My standard cocktail party response was always “the Dem’s piss away more than the Rep.’s steal”. As I have become older and wiser, my new one is “both parties are so corrupt that if a politician was standing in front of me at this party, y’all would be witnessing an assualt, battery, maybe more, and I would be smiling all the way to jail.”

By: AnninCA

AnninCA — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:12:37 +0000

Seriously, what is the problem. I’m toast with the articles about how this is so “awful.”

What I want is why?

This is nuts.

By: The Irascible Chef » Nevermind!

The Irascible Chef » Nevermind! — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:36:59 +0000

[...] his nominations are outright appalling or at least eyebrow raising. He cannot seat his cabinet or staff treasury. His priorities seem disordered. He’s been picking fights with private citizens to create his [...]

By: billypaintbrush

billypaintbrush — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:41:54 +0000

Ready on Day One. Is it Day One yet?

Maybe he needs a do-over and we start calling him President Mulligan

By: Mark Garnett

Mark Garnett — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:26:04 +0000

Such an epic failure! F-You to all of those that voted for this Socialist POS and Liar-In-Chief, you ALL suck and are stupid morons… Actualy that gives you way too much credit!

By: OneConservative

OneConservative — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:47:24 +0000

He blamed the “absolute madness” of the US system where a new administration had to hire new officials from scratch, leaving a decision-making vacuum.

“There is nobody there. You cannot believe how difficult it is,” he told a conference of civil servants.

– George Stephanopoulos

How sad is it in the political process, that the people who the then Senate has confirmed need to leave when a new administration comes in; and the process has to start all over. How can we revise this process and improve this system? This would have been very helpful RIGHT NOW as we do not know when the right people will be found (I mean appointed).

By: becki51758

becki51758 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:44:13 +0000

patriette on March 12, 2009 at 8:20 PM

Then there was his promises to change all of Bush’s policies concerning the War on Terror.

By: becki51758

becki51758 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:41:32 +0000

Dr Evil on March 12, 2009 at 7:24 PM

Lets throw the Movi-prep mix in there with the fasting.

By: ladyingray

ladyingray — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:35:00 +0000

getalife on March 12, 2009 at 8:10 PM: Sorry, forgot the promise about no lobbyists. Did you believe that one?

katablog.com on March 12, 2009 at 8:54 PM

What about his stand on signing statements? I bet you cheered when he said they were baaaaaaaddddddddddddd….

By: darktood

darktood — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:55:46 +0000

most incompetant transition EVAH.

most incompetant administration EVAH.

most incompetant president EVAH.

notagool on March 12, 2009 at 6:06 PM

.
With the possible exception of Caligula who appointed his horse Inciatus, to the Roman Senate, worst leader EVAH.
.

Low blow, man. William Hung had cajones. These idiots have none.
ladyingray on March 12, 2009 at 6:03 PM

.
William Hung seemed to understand that he sucked, but that people seemed to like it. Obama seems to think he’s a great statesman.
.

86 nominees under the bus
.
BobMbx on March 12, 2009 at 5:03 PM

.
Maybe it’s his road improvement plan blood is a hell of a binding agent.

By: Tzetzes

Tzetzes — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:29:48 +0000

Cohen…Nazareth…

Neither the Priest nor the Nazarene can serve The One (whose shoe’s latchet they are not worthy to unloose).

By: RalphyBoy

RalphyBoy — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:21:51 +0000

Just wanted to drop my 2 cents (before Obama tries to spend it for me)… I love the picture. He looks like the RCA dog listening for a clue.

By: A Tale Of Two Transitions « Nice Deb

A Tale Of Two Transitions « Nice Deb — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:07:17 +0000

[...] Well, this is just sad. Another high level appointment crashed and burned, today. After losing Annette Nazareth to potential criticism of her regulation efforts at the SEC and Caroline Atkinson to more tax problems, H. Rodgin Cohen has now departed as the designee for Deputy Treasury Secretary. [...]

By: Immolate

Immolate — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:50:13 +0000

From what I’ve been reading, Cohen is really good. Perhaps the administration had to sacrifice the obligatory Jew to balance out their latest under-bus anti-semite.

By: GunRunner

GunRunner — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:45:16 +0000

They’re not trying, folks. They’re not trying.

rockmom on March 12, 2009 at 5:54 PM

This is exactly right, Folks. Look at the “Technology Guru” nominee they have at the white house (Lower case intended). Couldn’t pick a NASA Guy or a senior guy at Intel or Microsoft? Instead they get a hack GW nutcase who even other scientists lean away from in the elevator. My God. This guy is supposed to the the President of the United States!

This is not lack of competency, this is planned failure.

By: BobMbx

BobMbx — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:44:02 +0000

You beat me by 3 minutes. That’s Bush’s fault as well.

Del Dolemonte on March 12, 2009 at 5:29 PM

Sunrise tomorrow at 6:32 am. Bush denies involvement.

By: Worth a Read | The Lonely Conservative

Worth a Read | The Lonely Conservative — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:51:03 +0000

[...] Greatest Transition Ever Strikes Again – Ed Morrisey wonders how the Greatest Transition since the birth of our nation could be so inept at staffing. You got it, another one bites the dust. [...]

By: njcommuter

njcommuter — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:28:13 +0000

Honest.

Competent

Democrat

Pick any two. (But the last one counts as two.)