How Does Obama's Cabinet/WH Staff differ from what Clinton's would have been?

[kennetha]

Clearly, there are some Obama loyalists who are in positions that would be occupied by Clinton loyalists instead. But the Cabinet seems so far to be full of the kinds of people that Clinton might well have chosen.

It could be inevitable -- there are just so many experienced Democrats to go around for these top jobs. But I find it interesting that all that struggle during the primary -- which I admit to being a big part of -- probably wasn't about all that much. A Clinton administration probably would have looked a lot like the Obama is going to look.

[GarbagemanLB]

1. It is all about the person at the top.

[kennetha]

2. Sure the person at the top matters hugely

But so do the people around him. Neither Obama nor Clinton have the depth of knowledge of economics to think up workable solutions to our current economic mess on their own. I doubt any president would. So it matters a very great deal who the president surrounds him/herself with.

[Jennicut]

12. Are you kidding me? The difference is who is president!

Different personalities, different priorities. Obama and Clinton did not differ as much as McLame and Obama did but it is still way different.

[babylonsister]

3. Who knows? I'm witnessing what PE Obama is doing, and it's awesome!

He's my next president, he's taking the bull by the horns, and he's running.

I won't be second guessing what mighta/coulda/shoulda happened.

[kennetha]

5. I don't mean to be second guessing either.

It just occurred to me that a (non-existent) Clinton administration would have looked an awful lot like the actual Obama administration -- except that Obama would probably have been the VP rather than the SOS.

[napoleon_in_rags]

4. Yeah, you're probably right. But its not really change from 1992-2000 times that we're after.

I mean, when you look at the last 8 years, the Clintons were really quite decent in comparison. They did some things wrong in their economic policy, but most importantly, Hillary acknowledges those errors as such, she has progressed. And really, if you can't think of the good things they did, the last 8 years should make us all grateful for the horrible things they DIDN'T do! :)

[Median Democrat]

6. The Problem I See With A Clinton Cabinet Is An Unintended Team Of Rivals

If Hillary's cabinet resembled her campaign staff, you could end up with a lot of folks who really don't like each other. For example, the Ickles v. Penn v. Solis-Doyle dynamic. I am not just saying rivals, but it seems that from the get go, you have some folks who were close to Clinton who really disliked each other. I am sure you would have a lot of the same people, BUT I wonder whether Hillary would have tried to pull Obama's hat trick of linking green economy reforms to a stimulus package, or would Hillary Clinton's stimulus plan be a more traditional Democratic/Republican hybrid approach.

[kennetha]

7. I take your point. But I think those folks would have been WH Staff

not Cabinet.

[BlooInBloo]

8. Yah - you show all of those "I prefer Obama because Clinton will choose a bad Cabinet" people!

Oh, wait.

There wasn't a single person like that.

[TexasObserver]

9. Bogus! Naming someone who worked in the Clinton WH is not hiring "Clinton loyalists"

If you're trying to appear silly and irrelevant, you're doing a good job.

[kennetha]

11. huh? I'm afraid I missed the force of your remark.

[cali]

10. Valerie Jarrett, Greg Craig, David Axelrod, ,Richardson

[Occam Bandage]

13. Oh man! And I supported Obama entirely because I thought that

he would only appoint inexperienced people to high-ranking cabinet positions!