The United States Cabinet came into existence with George 1 (the first George, you know, that Washington guy), who appointed 4 people to advise and assist him in his duties. The appointments were Thomas Jefferson to Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton to Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Knox to Secretary of War (which essentially became the Secretary of Defense in 1947), and Edmund Randolph to Attorney General.

That was 1789. In 2008, The Cabinet consists of the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments-the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General. Other positions have in recent years been given Cabinet-level rank and influence, and include the Chief of Staff, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Director of the National Drug Control Policy, and the U.S. Trade Representative. 21 positions to be filled with 21 people who’s job it will become to be the President’s eyes and ears, to assess the needs of their respective departments and advise the President to act beneficially to American citizens. Those 21 people, appointed and led by a man that we the people elected, will shape the policies of our country over the next four years.

It has been interesting to watch our President-Elect begin to fill those Cabinet positions after winning the election on the campaign slogan, “Change we can believe in.” In his nomination victory speech, he mentioned change 16 times and concluded with this messianic blurb that sent a chill down the spine of every conservative in the country,

“The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.”

So who has The Chosen One chosen so far? Here are some official and widely speculated picks thus far:

Secretary of State- Hillary Clinton: Can’t get any more Clintonite than a Clinton! Interesting choice for SOS, since she and Obama sparred fiercely on foreign policy issues throughout the campaign. Clinton was a supporter of the Iraq War, which Obama has vehemently opposed and has happily bashed any supporters for their apparent idiocy.

Secretary of the Treasury- Timothy Geithner: President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Wonderful, the chief architect of last spring’s $30 billion Bear Stearns bailout that kicked off the current entitlest bailout shenanigans. Guess all Detroit has to do is make it through to January 20th…

Attorney General- Eric Holder: The Justice Department’s No. 2 when Bill was president. Holder failed to stop the Clinton Presidential pardon of Marc Rich. Marc Rich the felon, the one hiding out in Switzerland, the one on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, the one who’s former wife and mother of his children had made large donations to the Democratic Party and the Clinton Library during the Clinton Administration. Yup, our likely new Attorney General failed to either recognize or stop (or both) a Presidential pardon bought and paid for in full. Get ready to see Tony Rezko back on the shady streets of Chicago.

White House Chief of Staff- Rahm Emanuel: A senior advisor to Clinton from 1993 to 1998. In the White House, Emanuel was initially Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy. He was a leading strategist in the unsuccessful White House efforts to institute universal healthcare and many other Clinton initiatives.

Secretary of Health and Human Services- Tom Daschle: Former Senate Majority Leader during the Clinton Administration, and a backer of that administration’s failed health-care effort of the early 1990s. Wow, Obama sure has appointed a lot of people that were unsuccessful in implementing one of his biggest promises-socialized healthcare. What makes him think they’ll be successful this time around?

Secretary of Commerce- Bill Richardson: Served as U.N. ambassador under President Bill Clinton and later as his Secretary of Energy. While heading the Energy Department, Richardson publicly named Wen Ho Lee (an employee at the Los Alamos National Laboratory) as a suspect who might have given nuclear secrets to the Chinese government. Lee was later cleared of charges and awarded a settlement by the Federal Government for the accusation. Richardson was criticized by both parties for his shoddy handling of the espionage inquiry.

Secretary of Homeland Security- Janet Napolitano: Appointed by President Bill Clinton as US Attorney for the District of Arizona in 1993. She later won election and served as the Arizona attorney general, and she is now serving her second term as the Governor of Arizona. As head of the Department of Homeland Security, Napolitano will be responsible for protecting our borders to keep terrorists out as well as responding to natural disasters. Throughout her term as Governor, she has consistently vetoed anti-immigration legislation that would have denied in-state tuition and day care for illegal aliens, made English the official stat language, allowed state and local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws, and rejected the Matricula Consular from Mexico as a valid form of identification (FBI officials have said these are “easy to forge” and a “major item on the product list of fraudulent document trade currently flourishing across the country and around the world.”). What she has done on immigration reform is to implement some of the nation’s toughest sanctions against businesses that employ undocumented migrants. Wonderful, punish the business owners that were forced to accept the easily forged Matricula Consular as an official form of identification rather than punish the illegal immigrant. Do people really think that punishing the employers rather than the criminals will stem the flow of illegals flocking to our country? They’ll just forge a new ID and get a job somewhere else. Maybe as Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano can concentrate on tracking down and putting out of business the specific person that sold Iran enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb rather than keeping the suicidal terrorists carrying that bomb out of our country.

Change we can believe in?

Earlier this year, Obama’s campaign issued a statement that said, “Senator Obama has always been a critic of vouchers…Throughout his career, he has voted against voucher proposals and voiced concern for siphoning off resources from our public schools.”

Vouchers would allow parents to take part of the money allocated for their child to attend the public school that they are districted for, and use that money at the school of their choice, including private schools. The concept of school choice is essentially a free market for education, where teachers and administrators would be forced to provide an excellent education to their students, or risk losing them (and the funds that come with them) to the school down the street. Obama is concerned that by allowing parents to make the best decision regarding the education of their children, they will do just that and yank their kids out of under performing schools and put them into ones where teachers have to rely on job performance rather than tenure if they want to keep that paycheck coming.

By Obama’s thinking, a much better plan would be to pour endless amounts of cash into schools where teachers are tenured and receive automatic pay raises, providing little incentive for them to work hard and do their job well (after all, why bother trying if there’s no motivation?), and where unruly students often disrupt their classmates learning because it’s practically impossible to discipline these days lest we hurt that student’s precious self-esteem. No wonder our current education system is such a mess!

I’m so glad to hear that Obama, a self-proclaimed man of his word, is going to enroll his two elementary aged daughters into the DC public school system, one of the worst in the nation. Hopefully, by not taking funds away from the public school system, he will lead the way to show our nation that vouchers are not needed because school choice is not needed. The government is much more knowledgeable than parents in deciding which school their children should attend, and if we could all just head to that government advice, the system would be fixed, right?

Wait, what’s that? The Obama girls will be attending an exclusive private school? Huh. I thought that public schools were good enough for American children. I guess just not good enough for Obama’s children. If only we all had the means to practice school choice, something that the Obamas themselves have chosen to do.

“Unfortunately, I think people thought they were making a statement about what their view of same-sex marriage was. I don’t know if it was clear that this meant that we are amending the Constitution to diminish freedom in our state.” Nancy Pelosi insinuating that the voters of California were too stupid to figure out what they were voting for by saying Yes to Prop 8.

“This whole area, years ago, was really redneck.” John Murtha on his constituents in Pennsylvania.

“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” Obama shares his opinion on Pennsylvania residents.

Why oh why do you guys elect people that demean, insult, and mock you? Come on people, have some integrity!

Obama’s swift ascent to the top job in the world has been made possible by a four letter word. HOPE. Hope for change. Change brings hope. Hope for more change. Well, you get the picture. I had hope that America would question The Chosen One’s insane ideologies and see through his eloquence to his sadly lacking resume. No such luck.

But I still have hope.

Hope that as a nation, we can finally move past the idea that rampant racism still exists in our country. Of course there will always be pockets of individuals that believe people of color, or women, or people of a certain age (either too young or too old) are unable to achieve greatness due to those facts. But America has voted to say, Race is not an issue. We don’t care about the color of his skin, we want him as our leader! In a way, I am glad that our first dark-skinned President is so lacking in achievements, because now no one can say that a black man had to work ten times harder than a white man to achieve the same level of success.

I have hope that the middle east will not implode on itself. I don’t have hope that we won’t be attacked by terrorists at regular intervals like we have under the leadership of Presidents soft on foreign policy and domestic defense, but at least we won’t have a middle east sized hole in the planet. The appointment of Rahmbo, oops I mean Rahm Emanuel, to Chief of Staff sends a clear message to Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan that Obama does not have Muslim loyalties. If he did, he never would have chosen a Hebrew speaking Israeli as his Gatekeeper.

I have hope that Obama figured out how to graft twenties onto a sycamore so that money can now literally grow on trees. I take that back, it would be wiser to use bamboo as the host plant since it grows so rapidly and the greenies will be happy because it’s a sustainable resource. I have hope for this prospect because it seems to be the only solution for funding the trillion dollars or so that he wants to spend on things like socialized health care and welfare checks to 40% of the population.

Mostly, I have hope that Obama’s presidency will push the GOP back to the right where it belongs. President Bush’s intense unpopularity coupled with McCain’s loss last Tuesday have shown that Americans, despite their claims, do not want a moderate in office. Let’s resurrect the Republican Party, remember the principles it was founded on and seek to uphold those values.

After it’s inception in the mid 19th century, the Republican party promoted policies for the swift growth of industry, railroads, mines, and prosperous business that led us to become a dominant world power by the 20th century.

Our first Republican President ended slavery because ALL men were created equal. Republicans passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the very same one that had been blocked by the Democrats in 1875, the one that guarantees the right of equal access to all citizens in all public accommodations — whether or not owned or controlled by the government. Susan B. Anthony, one of the most famous advocates for female suffrage was a Republican. She didn’t live to see the 19th amendment, because it wasn’t until Republicans gained control of the House and Senate that the bill was able to be passed into law. Jackie Robinson, the man that stood on a baseball field and changed pro-sports forever was an outspoken Republican.

Republicans opposed the New Deal, which has been credited with dragging the depression on for years longer than it would have had the free market been able to correct itself without government interference. Our modern hero Ronald Reagan slashed taxes and implemented supply-side economics to yank our country out of a Democrat-induced recession, took down the Berlin Wall, dissolved the USSR, and put the first woman onto the US Supreme Court.

I have hope that Republicans will get back to their conservative roots, fighting for equality for every American to have the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams. After four years of Obama, we’re going to need it.

You have come forward since your candidate’s defeat with the most preposterous blame game I have ever witnessed. “Palin is at fault!” you scream, desperate to point the finger anywhere but at McCain’s socialist-lite agenda, poorly run campaign, or unwillingness to play hard ball with his opponent.

You claim that this woman didn’t know that Africa is a continent, not a country, wasn’t aware of the countries involved in NAFTA, threw daily hissy fits over media reports, refused to take direction or accept coaching for interviews, and acted like a credit card carrying ditz on numerous shopping sprees.

I find it difficult to believe in this age of technology that not one person has caught any of that evidence on audio or video tape. I find it hard to believe that someone inclined to throw tantrums on a daily basis is the same person who took down the corrupt members of her own party in her own state, and renegotiated deals with the Big Boy oil companies to benefit her constituents rather than to continue to line the pockets of the Oil Elite. I find it difficult to believe that someone so materialistic is the same person that gave up a private jet as one of her first acts as Governor of Alaska. I find it difficult to believe that you truly had Sarah’s best interest at heart when you fed her to the lions named Gibson and Couric rather than letting her appear on The O’Reilly Factor, even after Bill apparently begged for the opportunity. I find it difficult to believe that someone as bumbling as you’re trying to portray her would possess the wherefore all to finally get the bill passed and the groundwork laid for the Alaskan pipe dream of the Alaskan pipeline, after thirty years at a standstill.

And now, our sweet Sarah has come out and apologized, saying, “If I cost McCain even one vote-I’m sorry.” She should be apologizing to President-Elect Obama, saying, “I’m sorry I cost you your landslide victory.”

Sarah Palin pumped more energy into the Republican party than we’ve seen in two decades. McCain’s campaign was dead in the water by late summer, right up until he announced Sarah as his running mate. She injected her charm and spirit into McCain’s rapidly sinking run for the White House, attracting Obama-sized crowds to rallies (where interestingly, the people chanted, “Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!” not, “John McCain! John McCain!”) and significantly boosted campaign funds. McCain’s campaign raised $47 million last August; $10 million of which came in the last three days of the month after McCain announced he had chosen Sarah to be his vice presidential running mate.

I know you are bitter, Insider. You’re probably upset that *Caribou Barbie* possesses the natural ability to inspire and lead, the determination to get the job done, the fearlessness to stand up for what is right even when standing alone, and to do it all with a flawless appearance and a baby on her hip. It must be difficult to constantly be around someone that has something that you feel rightfully belongs to you.

Let me let you in on a little secret: Name calling and finger pointing will get you no where, it will only make you look small and petty. Please go put on your grown-up pants, apologize to Governor Palin for your childish behavior, and thank her profusely when she inevitably forgives you and brushes it off her shoulder like she has so many other groundless attacks. If you play your cards right, you may even end up with a shot at White House Receptionist in 2012.

Sincerely,
A Sarah Palin Supporter

Someone calling him or her self The Masked Man commented on my Kool-Aid post this morning. It has sense been deleted, but never fear, I have saved it for posterity! When I decided to publicly voice my thoughts and opinions on politics, I knew this sort of thing was coming (it always does on either side of the issue), but who knew it would come so soon? I almost feel a little sense of pride in my *Hateful Reader Response* deflowering.

Stood by long enough. You Are a HORRIBLE CLOSE MINDED BIGOT.

You are a spoiled little girl who doesn’t understand that more so many people are suffering around you. You’ve always had Daddy’s money or Your Husband’s Money while people around you can’t even afford a car to LIVE in. I don’t give a shit about the fact that you think you are better than people because your family has money to send people to college or to send a daughter to a private schools. The fact remains,you have been given options most of America hasn’t seen. I can’t believe your daughter is going to be raised to believe the horrible things you guys do.

You keep talking about how horrible it will be to live in this country under Barack Obama… I have a solution. You should leave it. Just leave. People are losing jobs and losing homes. People who never did anything wrong, good people, are being forced into terrible situations and you and your spiteful family are more interested in yourselves than your common man.

You post videos that show support for common Republican Hateful Thoughts like Sexism, Homophobia, Racism, Greed, Greed, Greed! You are only as good as the things you support. If you post a video with any of those things, you are sexist, racist, homophobic, Greedy, Greedy, Greedy. Jennifer, YOU ARE A TRUE MONSTER!

Wow, what a way to stand up for what you believe in and make a case for your point of view- anonymously post hateful things that are so far from the truth that it’s laughable! I actually feel bad for my fantastic, intelligent, well-educated liberal friends because you, Masked Man, risk giving them a bad name with your barely coherent babbling and name calling. President Elect Obama would be ashamed of your behavior.

But wait! There’s more! I immediately went to make my family blog private, and The Masked Man had commented on a post about my five year old daughter’s class trip to the pumpkin patch.

MY ONLY HOPE IS THAT YOUR DAUGHTER LEARNS TO GET AWAY FROM YOUR SKEWED SENSE OF LOGIC AND ETHICS, AND CAN BECOME WHAT HER FAMILY NEVER WAS, HUMAN!

Oh yes, you’ve won me over with your eloquence now!

What a joke.

PS- don’t mess with my children.

…because you took the rest of us down with you.

In the words of my good friend Esther- Good night!

If Senator Obama wins the election today to become the next President of the United States, I believe that the magic pixie dust surrounding him will slowly start to disintegrate. As he enacts some of his far left policies and the repercussions begin to hurt American lives, there are going to be people that cry out, “How could we know this was going to happen?”

I’m going to be tempted to say, “I told you so.” But I don’t need to. It’s already been said.

When energy costs skyrocket, when gas is $8 a gallon and electricity rates are doubled, I’ll say, “Obama told you so.”

When I was asked earlier about the issue of coal…under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket…even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad, because I’m capping greenhouse gasses, coal power plants, natural gas…you name it…whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retro-fit their operations. -Obama, Jan. 2008

When we’re attacked by middle eastern terrorists on a regular basis (like we were during the Clinton Administration), I will say, “Biden told you so.”

Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America… Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy. -Biden, Oct. 2008

When people diagnosed with cancer have to wait weeks or months to begin treatment due to the slow moving process of socialized, universal health care, I’ll say, “Obama told you so.”

I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country…The time has come for universal health care in America. -Obama, Jan. 2007

When unemployment goes up because businesses are unable to afford his income and capital gains tax hikes, while at the same time actually paying their employees, I’ll say, “Obama told you so.”

I will raise CEO taxes. There is no doubt about it. -Obama on CNN, May 2008

When Obama appoints questionable characters to his cabinet and to the US Supreme Court, and grants Presidential pardons to monsters that should be locked away from society, I’ll say, “Obama told you so.”

In both his (Jeremiah Wright) case and Father Pfleger’s case, they’ve done great work in the community, and I worked in some very poor communities. That’s how I got to know these folks because I was working in these neighborhoods. Obama, Sept 2008

I’ve been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career. Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work. Obama speaking to ACORN, Nov. 2007

[It] never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth … It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution. -Obama’s view of the Supreme Court, Sept. 2001

When people start to wonder why the alcoholic dad down the street (the one whom everyone suspects is molesting his 9 year old daughter but no one can prove it) is getting a welfare check from the government paid for by a small business that had to lay off half a dozen employees to provide that check to that man, I’ll say, “Obama told Joe the Plumber.”

It’s not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success too. I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everyone. -Obama, Oct. 2008

When people start to wonder if he was ready to become the leader of the free world, I’ll say, “Obama told you so.”

I was elected yesterday. . . . I have never set foot in the U.S. Senate. I’ve never worked in Washington. And the notion that somehow I’m immediately going to start running for higher office just doesn’t make sense. So look, I can unequivocally say I will not be running for national office in four years, and my entire focus is making sure that I’m the best possible senator on behalf of the people of Illinois. . . . I am not running for president in 2008. -Barack Obama, Nov. 4, 2004

Back in May, Obama congratulated Senator Hillary Clinton on a campaign well run. He did that oh-so-sly-to-13-year-olds trick of scratching his face with his middle finger, to flip her off without actually having to take responsibility for it.

Watch it-

Today, he did the same thing to McCain, in the same congratulatory speech, in the same try-to-prove-that-I-did manner.

Watch it-

Please tell me this childish moron isn’t going to be running our country for the next four years.