Stealth War: Barack Obama Sabotages Republicans
Tuesday’s announcement of Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.) as President Barack Obama’s nominee for Army secretary makes perfect sense from a policymaking standpoint. It’s hard to find a member of Congress who’s more well-respected or more steeped in military personnel issues than McHugh, a senior House Armed Services Committee member who has wrestled with issues ranging from recruitment to base closure to the role of women in combat.
Yet it’s also hard to find a choice better calibrated to meet the Obama administration’s political imperatives. All at once, Obama has selected a nominee who burnishes his bipartisan credentials, opened up a seat prime for Democratic pickup and drained the GOP reservoir of one of the few remaining Northeastern moderates.
When Obama picked Jon Huntsman to be U.S. ambassador to China, I figured there was more at work than simply picking the best qualified person. It's clear Obama is cherry picking moderate Republicans for various positions to create "bipartisanship" and open up seats for Democrat competition. Pretty clever, actually.
|