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OBAMA'S CABINET - What's so special about a team of rivals?
International Herald Tribune ^ | November 20, 2008 | James Oakes

Posted on 11/20/2008 7:31:51 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY

Inspired by the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, President-elect Barack Obama is considering appointing a "team of rivals" to his cabinet - if rumors about the nomination of Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state are true. But there's more mythology than history in the idea that Lincoln showed exceptional political skill in offering cabinet positions to the men he had beaten in the race for the 1860 Republican nomination.

For one thing, there was nothing new in what Lincoln did. By tradition, presidents-elect reserved a cabinet position, often secretary of state, for the leading rival in their party. John Quincy Adams inaugurated the practice by appointing one of his presidential rivals, Henry Clay, to that post. It was a controversial move in 1824; enemies of Adams denounced the appointment as a corrupt bargain.

By the 1850s, the practice had become a tradition. In that decade, Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan installed in their cabinets men who had been major rivals for their party's nomination. Daniel Webster, who lost the Whig Party nod in 1848, became Fillmore's secretary of state. William Marcy, after failing to win the 1852 Democratic nomination, took the same position in Pierce's cabinet. Lewis Cass, the Democratic nominee in 1848 and a man whose presidential dreams never diminished, was appointed Buchanan's secretary of state in 1857.

These were not notably successful administrations. Most historians agree that Pierce and Buchanan rank among the worst presidents in American history. There was nothing particularly unusual, or even impressive, when Lincoln followed this well-established practice.

(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bho2008; lincoln; obama; obamatransitionfile; teamofrivals

1 posted on 11/20/2008 7:31:51 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
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To: Free ThinkerNY
I'm losing track -- is Obama Lincoln? Or is he FDR? Or do I need to compare him to JFK? Or is he, in fact, Jesus?

Mind you, the guy really hasn't ever done anything in life, he just shows up, gets accolades, and moves on. But I guess he's definitely one of the greatest humans the world has ever seen. Gag.

2 posted on 11/20/2008 7:34:44 PM PST by ClearCase_guy
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To: Free ThinkerNY

he should be reading books on Management 101 instead of Doris Goodwin. And he loves to pick Senators instead of people who actually know how to run things.


3 posted on 11/20/2008 7:36:13 PM PST by ari-freedom (So this is how Liberty dies... with thunderous applause)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Assembling a team of rivals was Hitler’s tactic.


4 posted on 11/20/2008 7:36:19 PM PST by Kevmo (Palin/Hunter 2012)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

It’s not so much a “team of rivals” as a “team of bozos”.


5 posted on 11/20/2008 7:42:02 PM PST by reg45
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To: reg45

I call a “federally funded comedy troupe.”


6 posted on 11/20/2008 7:43:54 PM PST by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Kevmo
Photobucket
7 posted on 11/20/2008 7:54:14 PM PST by oyez (Justa' another high minded lowlife.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

FWIW...IMHO...his Cabinet looks like Hillary’s...and in fact, it may well be!!! IF he’s not got a valid BC....I suspect they will allow him to be inaugurated, then turn the press loose on him...he resigns in 3 months...JB is Pres...picks HRC as VP...steps down after 2 years allowing HRC a 10year reign.....


8 posted on 11/20/2008 7:58:49 PM PST by mo
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Obama's cabinet are nothing more than Clinton retreads. So much for 'change'.

It's like buying a new car and then going to a tire shop and taking off the new tires and putting on recaps.

9 posted on 11/20/2008 8:00:15 PM PST by Parmy
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To: ClearCase_guy
that is what i want to know, who is he supposed to be like? we heard in the beginning he was the new JFK, with michelle dutifully dressing her part. then we had Jesus, which his fans and freaks held on to through out his entire run. once elected he was the new Reagan (errrrr, not even close)...ask yourself what do JFK, Jesus, and Reagan have in common?
the FDR thing is relatively new.
here are a few tidbits about FDR:
“Roosevelt’s “First 100 Days” concentrated on the first part of his strategy: immediate relief. From March 9 to June 16, 1933, he sent Congress a record number of bills, all of which passed easily.”
“His inauguration on March 4, 1933 occurred in the middle of a bank panic.”
OK, SO simularities, at least with FDR and obama, which are too endless to list...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDR#Fourth_term_and_death.2C_1945 So who is this man? oh i know! all hail "the one" he is all things, to all people...he will save the world! /s
10 posted on 11/20/2008 8:07:01 PM PST by CanadianMusherinMI (drill baby drill/mine baby mine!)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Team of Retreads. LOL.


11 posted on 11/20/2008 8:08:52 PM PST by cookcounty ("A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not why the ship is built." ---Governor Sarah Palin)
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I wonder who will be the token homosexual in the cabinet. Given the identity politics he practices, he almost certainly will nominate one, or two.


12 posted on 11/20/2008 8:18:01 PM PST by flying Elvis ("In...War, the errors which proceed from a spirit of benevolence are the worst" Clausewitz.)
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To: Free ThinkerNY

Obama has a Team of Re-Treds


13 posted on 11/20/2008 8:27:31 PM PST by fuzzybuzzard
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To: flying Elvis

Bingo! Our Governor, Janet Napolitano. I am wondering if she will take her “lady-friend” with her to DC or leave her here. I have heard she gave her some kind of job here, don’t know what it is or her name.
I am hoping he takes her to DC. A Republican will be in line for her job. That makes me think she won’d get the job. They don’t want to give up a governorship to the R’s.


14 posted on 11/20/2008 9:42:01 PM PST by IceAge
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To: Free ThinkerNY

If he turns into a Stalin he will want to kill all rivals. What better way to keep track of them? He even knows everything about any guns they might own.


15 posted on 11/20/2008 10:05:02 PM PST by Bellflower (A Brand New Day Is Coming!)
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