CE Week #18: “Is the President-Elect Courting His Former Opponent?”
January 13, 200
By Reed Galen
As President-Elect Obama readies his ascent to the White House less than two weeks from now, it appears that his political acumen extends not only to those in all parts of the Democratic party, but in no small part to Senator John McCain as well. Just three short months ago we were inundated with McCain’s talk of Bill Ayres and ‘That One,’ but an easy détente appears to have developed between the former rivals.
To that end, President-Elect Obama has committed four distinct acts that telegraph his political savvy when it comes to Senator McCain. His first move was to invite McCain to Chicago for a face-to-face meeting soon after the election. This magnanimous and post-partisan action surely played to McCain’s sense that politics has gotten far too ugly for its own good and was probably much appreciated as a sign of respect for the Arizonan personally.
Next, Obama selected Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security. Aside from being qualified for the job on a number of fronts (former US Attorney, state Attorney General, Governor of Arizona, a major border state, etc.) the Obama team again did Senator McCain a favor. With Napolitano firmly ensconced at the Nebraska Avenue headquarters of DHS, Senator McCain’s toughest potential opposition to re-election in 2010 is out of the picture. Having already announced his intention to seek another term in the Senate, this will allow McCain to carry out his Goldwater-esque desire to bring centrism and civility to the Senate and to the GOP.
In another act that was both gracious and pragmatic, the President-Elect helped ensure that Senator Joe Lieberman would retain his Chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. This after Lieberman spent almost two years on the campaign trail in support of his friend John McCain. Rarely hesitating in his criticism of the Obama campaign, Lieberman is lucky to be invited to sit with either caucus.
Lastly, Obama announced that he had selected former Congressman Ray LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, as his Transportation Secretary. Aside from having oversight over that department when he was the Senate Commerce Committee chairman, McCain and LaHood are good friends. McCain must have been pleased with such a choice.
Why, though, would the President-Elect go to all the trouble of giving so much consideration to an opponent whom he soundly defeated? Continuing the thread of wise political judgment that has so far defined his transition, Obama understands that having John McCain as an ally in the United States Senate is a major boon to his policy initiatives. As the recent standard-bearer for the GOP, McCain will be enormously helpful; any Republican imprimatur on Obama legislation could help clear stubborn obstacles. The prospect of having a troika of votes in the Senate (McCain, Lieberman and Lindsay Graham) may have also played into the strategy; pushing a bill from 58 or 59 to the magic level of 60 votes is invaluable as the Democrats stand on the cusp of their magic number.
From Senator McCain’s perspective, this scenario would allow him to return to the role he truly relishes: Being the deal-maker or swing vote in the Senate is much more his style and most importantly to him, keeps him imminently relevant. Acting as manager or administrator is not in McCain’s make-up, nor did he ever seem to enjoy the prospect of having to play that part. In addition, much like the aftermath of the 2000 campaign, 2009 finds John McCain not much a fan of the conservative wing of the GOP nor they of him. In 2001 he went out of his way to break with President Bush and Republicans on tax cuts and spending.
Once again Barack Obama has shown that in addition to his abundant charisma and soaring oratory, he possess deft political skills. One would be hard-pressed to find another recent example of a President (-Elect) and his opponent in the Presidential contest willing to work together, at least in theory. What’s more, now is legacy time for John McCain. With his almost assured re-election next year, it will not be much of a surprise if McCain, more often than not, turns out to be an ally of the Obama Administration.
I think it is very wise of President-Elect Obama to be civil to McCain. It is incredibly stupid to do all of this side-picking, with Democrats and Republicans opposed against one another. The moral of the story is that we’re all Americans, and the rest of the world pretty much hates us. We need to band together. We need to be united because the only place we’re going to find allies is at home. And Obama could use all of the allies he can get. The man is going to be president, and that means that the 111th Congress is going to squash him like a bug. They are always malevolent toward the executive branch as a whole. He needs to be friends with individuals, or there is going to be more gridlock from the legislative. If President-Elect Obama can get some key people on his side, with the good of the whole country in mind instead of just being reelected, he may yet achieve something. Maybe I’m being too hard on the national government, but they seem to be pretty worthless human beings. All they do is talk and write stuff down. All of their laws and impositions on America are done by real Americans. If Obama can beat the “let’s hate the other team” thing that is going on down at Capitol Hill, maybe Congress won’t be so worthless after all.
Connection: “Reaching Across the Aisle.” Instead of everyone in campaigns saying that they do this, Obama and McCain really are doing this. Refreshing.
Obama seems to have some major strategies. To tell you the truth, I had no idea how this whole election turn-out would end up; But I do believe that Obama is really impressing a lot of people. From many different people I know both conservative and liberal, not a whole lot of people are as disappointed as they were when he was elected (Of those who were disappointed). I think it’s great that Obama is keeping McCain in the picture, both for his own sake and for the sake of McCain. Being able to get things passed easier and with less hesitation is a great perk for Obama. On the other hand, being civil and gracious to McCain will give McCain an upper hand and give him incentive to help Obama out. I am very curious and kind of enthralled to watch and see what will un-ravel in the next four years, let alone the next two months. Will we pull our troops out? Will we add more troops? Will our economy flip? The great thing about this nation and an election is that almost anything is possible. As for this instance, I really don’t care about the labels ‘D’ or ‘R’ on somebody’s résumé; I just care about what they will do for our nation.
Connection:
Lately, we have been discussing blue-dog Democrats and such. Obama doesn’t need to be completely and utterly liberal to get the job done, nor does a Republican need to be strictly conservative. We need somebody who is more centralized and appeals to more people. A more central President will also be more able to get things done in Congress I believe.
As Barack Obama gets closer to becoming the President of the United States the American public is seeing that he could become on of the better Presidents our country has seen. He is already showing the knowledge of a man that is much older than he is. He is showing the wisdom of John McCain in fact. He is not only cordial to the people around him, but he is also cordial to the people that he has competed against for the last four years. He fought hard for the Democratic Presidential nominee against people like Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, and at times the words exchanged between the three of them were not friendly. But now Joe Biden is Barack’s Vice President and Hillary Clinton is now Obama’s Secretary of State. He is now doing the same thing with John McCain. Even though he and McCain fought hard for the Presidential nomination he is still trying to befriend John McCain because he understands that it will be beneficial in the end. I can just see more of these good decisions as Commander and Chief happening throughout Obama’s Presidency because he just seems like he knows what needs to be done.
Connection: I want to connect this article to the phrase “reaching across the aisle.” That is exactly what Obama is doing. He knows that for his Presidency to be successful he has to have the 111th Congress cooperate with him. He also knows that to have them cooperate with him he needs more than just the Democrats in Congress he also needs the Republicans. He needs a cooperative bipartisan Congress. He needs to “reach across the aisle.”
Lets just pretend for a minute that there was not a coincidence that President-elect Obama indirectly positioned favors for McCain and really chose these people, such as; Lieberman and Graham, for their high-qualified abilities and performance. If so, Obama is quite a lucky coincidence maker. Now back to reality, Obama has positioned himself in a very smart move. He chose well-qualified people, but also set himself up so that he could win in certain cases. “The prospect of having a troika of votes in the Senate (McCain, Lieberman and Lindsay Graham) may have also played into the strategy; pushing a bill from 58 or 59 to the magic level of 60 votes is invaluable as the Democrats stand on the cusp of their magic number.” Barak Obama is a smart man and he definitely set himself up for a good Presidency. The thing is though what if his plan back-fires and McCain, nor the other two, decide to be behind Obama’s proposed bills? Then he just put himself into a bad situation. Of course, no one will know until legislation starts going through and laws that come out. Some may say that it is the time for a unification within our Congress and to destroy the polarization. Obama said he was up for change and maybe that is his real motive.
Connection: After reading this article I remember Chris Matthews saying in his book, Hardball, “Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer”. In politics this is a very effective strategy. Also, in the political world its not just a job, its a game and you have to play it very smart.
I think that this article proves two things about Barack Obama. One, that he is extremely charismatic (maybe at times too charismatic) and secondly, that he is a great politician in that he knows how to strategically get ahead. I for one think that if there are the best people for the jobs out there, why should Barack Obama not use them just because they are somehow connected to McCain? Sure he might be doing McCain a favor, but having people that are right for the job is much better than playing stupid politic games. Maybe it just happens to be a coincidence, or perhaps Obama has done it on purpose, but either way I think all these people seem to be well picked. Plus I think that both McCain and Obama had pretty clean campaigns, meaning that I hardly think that either of them hates each other. So maybe Obama is trying to slip McCain a few political favors, for instance helping him get re-elected by picking Napolitano as head of the Department of Homeland Security. But then again, this is highly unlikely in the world of politics, but Barack Obama is trying to change how we view politics today.
Connection:
This connects to Chris Matthews’ Hard Ball. In this book he describe how politicians should keep their enemies close. Perhaps Obama is doing all of this in order to keep McCain close to him while in the white house.
I really like what Obama is doing. It is so nice to see politicians working with the other party. It is such a smart move to be nice to McCain, not only for the strategic benefits, but it just makes him look good to McCain supporters. That being said, I think that this was stragically smart also. Having McCain and his friends as supporters in the senate will help Obama get a lot more of his policies passed. In fact, having any republican ally is going to help his case, and since McCain considers himself a maverick and is not pleased with the conservatives there is not a better person to try and ally with. I think the appointment of Napolitano was smart because, from the sound of the article, Napolitano is highly qualified and it did a favor for McCain. It’s kind of like killing two birds with one stone.
Connection: In class we have talked about being extereme to be elected but becoming moderate to stay popular. It seems that Obama is doing a good job with that because he is in a way reaching out to the republicans. It seems like some of his policies will be sort of moderate too.
I think that crossing party lines and getting those few key GOP votes in the senate to cross that majority threshold is a very smart move on Obama’s part and shows that he has more political sense than many claim that he has. Awarding the Head of Homeland Security position to Napolitano and removing her from the Arizona senate seat race to clear the path for McCain’s reelection in 2010, which he has already announced his campaign for, is probably one of his wisest moves so far. Allowing Lieberman to retain his position as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee seems somewhat odd though, due to his outright dislike for Obama and his platform. But if Obama really is going beyond the petty level of “you hurt my feelings because you didn’t support me and you have a D next to your name too” then allowing Lieberman to retain his position only makes sense. I believe that such actions are the only way for Obama to make his plans effective. The bipartisanship that McCain and Obama both vowed to bring about are really being put into action by Obama and if this much is being done before he is even inaugurated who knows what he will be able to accomplish in the next 4, potentially and most likely, 8 years.
Connection-balancing the ticket: while this doesn’t exactly fit the definition of balancing the ticket it is essentially the same idea. Gain popularity by selecting and appointing those who are not your exact replicas.
That Obama is one smart dude. Not to mention kind and considerate. He was nice enough to show respect to McCain by inviting him to Chicago and everything. That should show to the rest of the country that Obama is humble enough not to rub victory in the faces of his opponents. Though I’m sure that being cordial wasn’t his only goal, it’s nice enough to know that he was kind. Nobody likes a sore winner.
And nobody likes a sore loser either. McCain was also very humble for accepting and appreciating all that Obama did for him. Now his bid for Senate will be easier than it would have been had Obama not captured Napolitano with an appointment. That Obama, he’s so thoughtful.
And smart. Because of this move, he can have a chance at getting McCain’s vote in the Senate and bumping up the number to cloture status. No more threats of filibuster if they can threaten cloture right back.
Connection: In Hardball, Matthews talked about having one’s enemies close to oneself and putting them in positions that will benefit you. Obama is sort of doing this now with both McCain and Napolitano. He’s being nice to McCain so McCain will one day return the favor to him, and he’s keeping closer tabs on Napolitano in case anything goes down there. He’s got this.
First, I would like to point out that John McCain is a maverick, and most importantly, a double-maverick. We have no idea if McCain would follow this theory at all. But I have to agree that it seems that Barack Obama has drawn McCain to the left a bit. Historically, McCain has been a centrist-conservative.
The article points out, as did McCain on his campaign, “…he went out of his way to break with President Bush and Republicans on tax cuts and spending”. McCain was, in my mind, a weak Republican candidate, who seemed not to get very much support from his party. Does this mean he will blatantly and consistently cross party lines in the senate? He did so in following the election in 2000 when President Bush (I am glad I can almost stop calling him that) beat him out for the nomination.
As far as the appointments go, I think Obama chose who he thought would help his presidency, and if doing do so helps McCain win elections, and puts some of McCain’s buddies in favorable political positions, so be it. Politicians are strategists, so can you really blame Obama for having a winning strategy?
Connection: Cloture. Gaining votes on key issues from the independents, Lieberman and Graham, and Mr. Maverick McCain, would give the democrats cloture, assuming the democrats voted with the party. Mr. Kautzman said that the democrats may not use cloture if they had it because they would like to reserve the rights of the minorities, but having cloture to stop filibusters may be helpful on key pieces of legislation.
60 votes. With “John McCain not much a fan of the conservative wing of the GOP nor they of him” there is already a good chance of being able to sway him in favor of democratic choices. McCain would be a great ally to have in the senate for Obama. By giving McCain a helping hand in being re-elected in 2010 and putting some of McCain’s friends into higher positions Obama has likely increased the chances of swaying him much more. And with the respect shown to Lieberman, who had “spent almost two years on the campaign trail in support of his friend John McCain”, Obama is one step closer to reaching the magic number. The beginning of President Elect Obama’s term seems to be unfolding very well, and hopefully is an indication of how the rest of his term, or terms, will be. I am interested to see what action Obama will first try to take during the “honeymoon” period. Is he going to try to move for the economy first or try to take on the war in the Middle East, both of these tasks are immense and complicated.
Connection: Obama clearly has a plan to try and reach the magic number of 60 votes, and in his this plan he is keeping his friends close and his enemies closer. Even though McCain was Obama’s rival in the presidential race, Obama knows that if he can sway McCain he will be a great ally to the democrats.
Obama “possesses deft political skills”, and is trying hard to reach the magic number of 60 votes. With “John McCain not much a fan of the conservative wing of the GOP nor they of him” there is already a good chance of being able to sway him in favor of democratic choices. McCain would be a great ally to have in the senate for Obama. By giving McCain a helping hand in being re-elected in 2010 and putting some of McCain’s friends into higher positions Obama has likely increased the chances of swaying him much more. And with the respect shown to Lieberman, who had “spent almost two years on the campaign trail in support of his friend John McCain”, Obama is one step closer to reaching the magic number. The beginning of President Elect Obama’s term seems to be unfolding very well, and hopefully is an indication of how the rest of his term, or terms, will be. I am interested to see what action Obama will first try to take during the “honeymoon” period. Is he going to try to move for the economy first or try to take on the war in the Middle East, both of these tasks are immense and complicated.
Connection: Obama clearly has a plan to try and reach the magic number of 60 votes, and in his this plan he is keeping his friends close and his enemies closer. Even though McCain was Obama’s rival in the presidential race, Obama knows that if he can sway McCain he will be a great ally to the democrats.
In all reality, what did we expect Obama to do? Point the finger at McCain and laugh at him, while doing all in his power to ruin his political career? I do not think so. It makes the most sense for Obama to extend an olive branch to McCain. McCain is still sitting on the Senate, and losing that token maverick (if we have not heard that enough by now) who may hold a swing vote, would be hurtful to future legislation. Obama knows what he is doing. “Once again Barack Obama has shown that in addition to his abundant charisma and soaring oratory, he possess deft political skills.”
(Connection) Moreover, it’s important as President to try to remain neutral, rather than far left or far right. We saw this recently in a previous article, where it talked about the various aspects of Obama’s choices in various positions. One major example would be his choice in Rick Warren for his inauguration. Warren’s views on gay rights especially, greatly contrast those of President-Elects. It’s put the gay community it a riot, and you can’t blame them. As the big quote that floats around in news and blogs, “[W]e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination…” – Joe Solomnese. If Obama is willing to put Warren center stage during his inauguration, do you think he’d hesitate for a moment at pulling a few favors for McCain and his fellow conservatives?
This article was pretty good. It really showed the leadership qualities Obama posseses. “Continuing the thread of wise political judgment that has so far defined his transition, Obama understands that having John McCain as an ally in the United States Senate is a major boon to his policy initiatives.” Obama understands that having allies in the Senate could be crucial to how much he is able to get done as president. Passing legislation through the Senate is like trying to push a wet noodle across a counter. It’s extremely hard but it can be done.
Obama is showing he has the capacity to lead our nation even before he is inaugurated. He knows that he needs top level support and helping McCain advance his political career is a way of getting that support. “Obama selected Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security…Senator McCain’s toughest potential opposition to re-election in 2010 is out of the picture.” This increases McCain’s chances of getting re-elected and hopefully he sees this and throws his support to Obama on key legislation that comes through the Senate. If Obama can get the support he needs from the right people, I think he will do a fine job as President of the United States.
Connection: I can connect this article to a Hardball rule. “Keep your Friends close; your enemies closer.” By doing McCain all these favors, Obama is drawing his enemies closer to him.
Obama has been making some pretty smart moves as he moves from being the President-elect to soon to be President. Appointing Republicans and running rivals, McCain, is one of the smartest moves he could make. He knows that giving McCain substantial power will give him some leverage because as we know power is was makes politics go round. And for Obama this means a closer number to 60 votes since McCain does stray a little, or a lot, from the Republican Party and their policies and they do not fully support him. As the article says, he broke up “tax cuts and spending.” Right now he is showing the American people that our countries two major political parties can work together during a period of war and economic downturn. This will give Obama a good image that he will try to keep until it is time for the 2012 election to roll around.
Connection: As others have already said, it is good to keep you enemies close. To go along with that, Lyndon B. Johnson said, “Better to have ‘em inside the tent pissin’ out than outside pissin’ in.” Obama will now have a steady eye on the Republicans and McCain.
It is very wise of Obama to interact with McCain in this fashion, especially in during this “honeymoon period”. It is a very effective strategy. The public sees that Obama is willing to work with his “enemies”, and does so in a very civil, positive way. When the public connects Obama with these sorts of acts, their approval will increase, and he can gain their support more easily.
I also think it is very good that Obama is willing to look past the boundaries of “party”, and instead work together. It sheds some light on the type of President he will be, I believe, and it shows that he is willing to go to many lengths to fix problems.
Though he was probably told to do these things, it also shows what type of person he is. He doesn’t mock McCain or embarrass him. McCain is also taking his loss graciously. Like the article states, McCain is still in a position of power. Though Obama is the “Chief Executive”, there are the checks and balances to counter his actions. Obama needs all the support he can get if he actually wants to initiate “change”. He realizes this, and he is very smart to start recruiting supporters early.
Connection: Logrolling
Obama is acting in ways to gain support on future policies. This is why he is focusing on the opposite party – they will be the hardest to persuade.
In response to Tommy: Of the questions you asked, President- elect Obama has very little control over a few of them. If the economy suddenly flips I would have to become a person of extreme suspicion against government and somehow think that the Obama camp was behind it. I do agree with you that it shouldn’t matter a whole lot about what party a person identifies with but the party identification often depicts what the person believes in. I am still disappointed in our nation for their choice in our next president but I will not be disrespectful by calling him any degrading names like so many people have resorted to for our current president. I am definitely ultra disappointed in how the people of our nation have become so incredibly disrespectful. It does not matter how much they disagree with some things the president has done, they should still show respect to the leader of our nation. I am glad President- elect Obama is crossing party lines in order to attempt to bring bipartisanship. I do hope, however, that both Republicans and Democrats alike will have the courage to stand up to any legislation they deem against their morals or against what this nation was founded on no matter who the president is nor what letter trailed his name as a candidate.
In response to Alena: I agree that it is a good move for Obama to align himself with McCain. Not only does it give him one extra supporter in the Senate, but it also shows what kind of person Obama is. It is obvious that he is someone who is smart enough and gracious enough to make friends with someone who just a few months ago was his biggest rival. Of course, that is much easier to do when you are the one who one the contest as opposed to being the loser. They sure didn’t mention anything about McCain seeking out Obama and trying to make friends with him after losing the election to him, and it was most likely his one and only shot at the position because he is way too old to try and ever run for President again. I think that it is all good and fine for the competition between the parties to go on during election time as the two are vying for power, but once it is over I think that the party differences should be put aside, and all of the members of the government should focus on what is best for our country rather than worrying about when their party is going to be back in power.
In Response to Savannah,
Obama is a very intelligent man; he got elected to President of the United States for goodness sake. I don’t think Obama choosing people McCain is close to or knows well was purely coincidence but I also don’t think Obama did it just to make McCain happy and keep him as an ally. Obama’s goal is (or should be) to make his team as strong as possible in order to keep the country safe. I doubt that Obama chose Janet Napolitano just to make sure McCain got reelected. She is extremely qualified for the job of head of Homeland Security considering she is a former state attorney general, governor of Arizona and a major bordering state. Obama choosing LaHood is another example. While LaHood and McCain are good friends, I can hardly see Obama choosing him just to make McCain happy. This being said, Obama’s move to put “people McCain knows” in high government positions may back fire on him, but I highly doubt it. Obama seems like a fairly level headed person, so choosing bipartisan people to work with him might work to his advantage and help to keep the American people happy. Obama would be lucky to be able to work with John McCain on certain bills, but I don’t think he is going to have to try to hard to get McCain to work with him considering he is the President.
To all the people who believe this is a good move:
I feel the need to bring a little cynicism to this whole party. While in the short run reaching out to your enemies can be a good move it may be damaging in the long run. As the winner he can afford to be a little gracious, but paving the way for people who will oppose you is not a good idea. McCain and Obama will not agree with each other, and the Democrats are going to lose seats in 2010 if the trend continues as it has. As Maddy pointed out Obama pretty much guaranteed McCain a senate seat in 2010 which means that there will be one less seat for a Democrat which may support Obama. These moves may look great now, and on the press, but it will not help Obama in the long run.
In response to Tommy Urann:
I will have to disagree with you that both liberals and conservatives are fine with the idea about Obama being our new president. I still hear complaints and that Obama is a socialist, even though it obviously doesn’t matter since he will be sworn in on Tuesday. Obama could change our whole nation around for the good but people, liberals or conservatives, will always find flaws and reasons to say he shouldn’t have won the election. As we have read, a president may make difficult discussions, get the American people more jobs and boost the economy, but during or after their presidency, their flaws are on top of everything. Take Truman for example, he dropped the a-bomb, got the people more jobs and boosted the economy, yet people look back on him as an unsuccessful president.
I also don’t think the words gracious and civil could be linked to Obama giving McCain more power. I don’t think this happened because Obama is a nice guy, I am sure he is, but when you have this much power, you are looking out for yourself and making sure everything goes your way. In this case Obama just wants to make sure he has more votes, not because he feels that McCAin deserves more power.
In agreement with Alena Schoonmaker, I think that President-Elect Obama is on the right track. The whole splitting a superpower in half from the inside because of different parties not getting along just isn’t a good idea. It started out as a no party system and that’s what the forefather’s wanted. They were smarted and knew that a party system could split our government and overall our nation apart and destroy the United States. Then it turned into a party system, but they were not total rivals of each other, so they still got along with each other. Now we are at the point where the Democratic party hates the Republican party and the they are at each other’s throats. If President-Elect Obama’s plan for change, that he is already working on, includes changing the whole government and uniting the parties, which will be extremely hard, then we could become an even better country and the government, such as the Congress, would have more to do then just sit around and argue. If President-Elect Obama does unite the parties, he will more then likely be nominated as one of the best presidents yet because he was able to not only get the parties to get along but he was also able to make the nation as a whole greater overall.