Monday, November 17, 2008

Will Obama really emulate Lincoln?

Obama often references Lincoln as his political hero. After the civil war, faced with calls to exact painful reparations on the south, Lincoln refused and tried when possible to include former enemies in the newly re-united nation. Speculation has abounded that Obama will include republicans in his new cabinet. Just yesterday he met at length with his former competitor John McCain to discuss how they can work together to help solve the nations problems. Building bridges before he even assumes power is definitely not something I've seen in my lifetime.

Here is some of the speculation out there from the horses mouth regarding republicans he might appoint to cabinet posts. (Obama's answer to a question about republicans he would work with at a town hall event in Manchester N.H.):

1. Dick Lugar who is a moderate republican that Obama says he liked working with in the senate. (He has been consistently mentioned as a candidate for Secretary of state.)

2. Sen. Chuck Hagel who is a moderate republican and Vietnam war veteran.

3. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who as the republican gov. of California has been a worldwide leader on global warming and environmental issues.

Since his election he has repeated his promise to have at least one republican in his cabinet. Abraham Lincoln? I'm not sure, but to borrow his campaign catch phrase, appointing a republican really will be change.

View the following links for more info:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/obama-pledges-to-appoint-republican-to-cabinet/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdGYHC3XNj8

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/12/obama-says-hed.html

2 comments:

Nick Franquez said...

Whether he will be exactly like Lincoln or not, I think this is a good sign for his presidency. I'm glad that he is going to seek help from both parties for each of their opinions. I think this shows his honesty and integrity, which are obviously both important traits for a President to have. Although the Republicans that he might have join his cabinet are all moderate, it's still a good move.

liliana said...

I agree, I believe that Obama's collaboration with the Republican's will help him create policies that will help unify the nation. Not only will Obama be more flexible and accessible to different ideas but he will also show good leadership