Ex-Bill Clinton aides to join State Dept.

Source: Associated Press

Dec 23, 1:41 PM EST
Ex-Bill Clinton aides to join State Dept.
By MATTHEW LEE and BARRY SCHWEID
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two people who served as top aides in the Clinton administration are expected to join the State Department when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes secretary of state.

James Steinberg, a deputy national security adviser under President Bill Clinton, will be nominated for deputy secretary of state. Jacob J. Lew, the budget director under Clinton, will oversee management and budget issues. People familiar with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team confirmed the appointments on condition of anonymity because the decisions were not yet public.

In a unique division of authority, Steinberg is expected to focus on foreign policy issues while Lew will handle day-to-day operations. Hillary Clinton is also known to be exploring the appointment of special mediators for trouble spots such as the Middle East.

While Steinberg's appointment would fill out the traditional State deputy role codified under the Bush and Clinton administrations for taking on broad policy and administrative functions, Lew's nomination would break new ground, providing Clinton with a strong advocate for increased funding and resources inside the Obama administration.




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Clinton III
Continuity We Can Believe In

By MICHAEL DONNELLY

This is part mea culpa, so please indulge my quoting myself. Back on November 5th much of the country celebrated the end of an error and the election of the first non-white president. (We’ll get to “male” and “Christian” later – much later, I suppose. "Ivy League?" Maybe never.) I wrote: “We’ll know soon enough how hard we’ll have to fight bad Obama policy. Even before Inauguration Day, we’ll know. Who Obama picks for his “team” will be all-telling…If President Obama fails to break completely with the narcissistic Baby Boomer politicians; we’ll know. If he keeps Gates at Defense or appoints Powell in his place; we’ll know.”

Well, that sure was quick.

I’m generally of the “we should be gracious and wait to criticize, at least until he’s sworn in” camp. However, with Bush spending his remaining time in office facilitating extinctions for his corporate masters by gutting Endangered Species protections; drawing up self-protective Pardon lists and making that ludicrous non-victory lap to Iraq – where the hero journalist Muntather al-Zaidi joined fed-up Americans in giving him the boot - Barack Obama is de facto, as well as, President-elect.

<snip>

Clinton III

For many the election was defined as a choice between “change” and a third Bush term. As when Curly Howard would point away and shout “look at the bird” distracting Moe while Larry absconded with the goods, citizen stooges failed to notice or wishfully "hoped" otherwise (mea culpa) - the real alternative to Bush III was always Clinton III.

Across the board; from Hillary Clinton, herself, as Secretary of State, we see little evidence of “change” and beyond shadow of a doubt evidence that we’ve begun the third Clinton term. From the very same Clinton (and Bush and Reagan/Bush) deregulators who now head economic policy to the Israel-first “obliterate Iran” hawks on foreign policy to the “we can amp-up our resource extraction economy and still have a healthy environment” deluders to an intolerant cleric leading prayers…the die is cast.

http://counterpunch.com/donnelly12192008.html

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James B. Steinberg
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_B._Steinberg