"Times are a changing" in the white male domination of Washington political position. The Obama Adminstration will mark the third out of for most recent administrations in which a woman has been the top diplomat assuring the national security of the United States and leading the State Department. There was Madeleine Albright in the Clinton Administration, Condolezza Rice in the two Bush terms, and now Hillary Clinton in the Obama Administration.  Yahoo News reports,

President-elect Barack Obama planned to nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as his secretary of state on Monday, transforming a once-bitter political rivalry into a high-level strategic and diplomatic partnership.

Obama will name the New York senator to his national security team at a news conference in Chicago, Democratic officials said Saturday. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for the transition team.

To clear the way for his wife to take the job, former President
Bill Clinton agreed to disclose the names of every contributor to his foundation since its inception in 1997. He'll also refuse donations from foreign governments to the Clinton Global Initiative, his annual charitable conference, and will cease holding CGI meetings overseas.Yahoo News  

Friday was a good day to be waiting on a FedEx truck. I was expecting a job offer that came with a promotion, 10K signing bonus, 10% pay increase, talented boss and fresh new challenges and opportunities. In return, my prospective employer would be gaining a highly-skilled and productive worker to fill a position that's critical to putting their products on the market. A position that has been vacant for nearly a year.

Of course, the anticipation of receiving the offer letter was clouded by brainstorms of my resignation letter. It wasn't going to be easy. I'd be leaving a high-profile and stable position at a highly-reputable company for a little known startup. Also, I would miss my colleagues and the company's progressive and uniquely European workplace policies. But every now and then an offer arrives that you just can't refuse.

Or so I thought...

One thing that really got on my nerves over the last few years was the lack of accountability in American politics. Not a single Bush appointee was forced to resign in disgrace despite the many screwups related to the Iraq war, justice department, etc.(just name a field that they did not mess up).

Sure Gonzales and Rumsfeld left, but only when it got too inconvenient, and only on their own terms. They did not feel obligated to express regret over their blunders.

Well, even a country like India which has many bad politicians, the people demand resignations when things get messed up. The disgraceful laughable way in which India responded slowly to the terror attacks in Mumbai has led to the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil submitting his resignation.  

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/30mu mterror-patil-sends-resignation-to-pm.ht m

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil [Images] has sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images]. Patil  had offered to quit at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday night held in the backdrop of the Mumbai terror strikes, party sources said on Sunday.      

Patil told the meeting that as the Home minister  he "takes the responsibility and whatever the CWC decides, I am ready
to do", they said.

You got to understand that Indian politicians are not exactly role models for our politicians. The ruling party in India is full of sycophants and the union minister is not exactly a paragon of virtue. Still, even he felt compelled to submit a resignation. What did we get from the Bushies? Excuses and sidestepping of responsibility over the years. What did we get from Democrats?  In an effort to look statesmanlike,  they gave us an example of mealy mouthed wimpy evasion of taking Bush and his cronies to task for the enormous harm they did to the country.

You got a chairman of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Lieberman, unwilling to take a single Bushie to task.

We got  bailouts where no politician or exec will take responsibility for the problems.

Nice. Change is not just a slogan. Obama is really doing a lot of superior groundwork compared to past presidents.  But he must understand accountability is key regardless of ideology. He must not let any of his underlings forget that in the upcoming years.

Answer this poll on single payer health care: http://www.twiigs.com/poll/Politics/1796 0

The Associated Press is reporting tonight that Barack Obama will nominate Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State on Monday, "transforming a once-bitter political rivalry into a high-level strategic and diplomatic partnership."

This will do for a panicked international community what the naming of Timothy Geithner did for a panicked Wall Street.

Back in July, Barack Obama said:

It's time to send a clear message to the world: America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons.

I, for one, really like the sound of that, but what does it mean in reality?  However much I would love to speculate and debate Obama's appointments and non-appointments, I think it far more useful at this point to discuss a little bit more about what Barack himself thinks and what that will mean for our new administration's tact concerning "a world with no nuclear weapons."

"The true strength of rulers and empires lies not in armies or emotions, but in the belief of men that they are inflexibly open and truthful and legal. As soon as a government departs from that standard, it ceases to be anything more than "the gang in possession," and its days are numbered." (H. G. Wells, as quoted in the Gravel Edition of the Pentagon Papers.)

The enemies of democracy are the enemies of the rule of law.

"enemies both foreign & domestic..."

Our Presidents and our armed forces swear to protect the Constitution from this threat - with good reason.  The Constitution is the rule of law and it is the one thing that can prevent tyrants, thieves and murderers from the ruinous world of their unchecked greed and brutality.

(Cross posted at The National Gadfly)

The primaries ended, what last June?  Why isn't it that some of us are unable to let bygones be bygones?  Why are some of us so insistent on rounding up all of our ancient foes and putting them on the public square?  I happen to think one of the best things about Democrats and our party is our ability to respect differing views and when our own views prevail, that we tend not to act like children on a play ground.

You don't like the way Jerome handled himself during the election past.  OK, we got it back then when you complained about it and we get it now.  You should get over it and stop acting like a retribution seeking Republican with no ability to look forward.  Focusing on the past is one thing if it means progress for the future.  Focusing on the past for petty grievances is just that, focusing on the past for petty grievances.