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Grinch December 2, 2008

OMG! The Adults Have Taken Over Foreign Policy

no bromide is saying that restoring america’s standing in the world disposition be easy.  and no anyone on the left expects they will be happy with everything a president obama will bring to foreign relations.  but the world should breathe a huge sigh of relief in hearing the next president announced his skilled, smart and experienced nationalist securty team today.

The President-elect first ticked off a number of challenges facing the US today and lo and behold, the next Commander-in-Chief acknowledged that we share the planet with folks who are not Americans:

The common thread linking these challenges is the fundamental reality that in the 21st century, our destiny is shared with the world’s. From our markets to our security; from our public health to our climate -we must act with the understanding that, now more than ever, we have a stake in what happens across the globe.

Casino movie

After eight years of cowboy big talk and military-first solutions, the simple admission that the US shares a common future with the rest of the world is a marked change.  Equally remarkable is a security team devoid of partisan hacks and neocon ideologues (I’m looking at you Alberto Gonzalez and John Bolton).

The traditional media’s lust for controversy (real, imagined or manufactured) has meant that much of the buzz about the National Security team has centered on the Hillary Clinton appointment.  Given my intense opposition to Hillary for President during the primary season, I’m surprised at my own hopeful acceptance of her as Secretary of State. I think it could prove to be a brilliant move or a disaster — such is the way with the Clintons.  But one thing’s certain, Obama is betting on her to be a great addition to his team and the two of them do share a common goal: success.  And by bringing her “in house,” their views of what constitutes “success,” by necessity, must merge together.  

But, for me, the mejores erecciones more interesting appointment today is the choice of Susan E. Rice to be ambassador to the United Nations.   First, in picking Dr. Rice, one of his closest advisors, Obama is signaling how much importance he places on working cooperatively with other nations.  He reportedly also is making compra levitra the U.N. Ambassador’s job a “direct report” to the president and is elevating the post back to being a part of the President’s cabinet. 

Dr. Rice is no shrinking violet and will be a forceful advocate of strong action, including military force if necessary, to stop genocide like that which has occurred in the Darfur region of Sudan in recent years.  Rice, 44, will be the second-youngest ambassador to the United Nations. A Rhodes scholar who earned a doctorate in international relations at Oxford University, she joined President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council staff in 1993 before rising to assistant secretary of state for African affairs at age 32.

The New York Times reported yesterday:

Some colleagues from her Clinton and Obama days said Ms. Rice can be blunt and unafraid to “mix it up,” as one put it, on behalf of issues she cares about. Ms. Rice herself acknowledges a certain impatience at times.  Admirers said she is a good listener and able to stand up to strong personalities, including foreign autocrats and militants in volatile regions of the world.

“Susan certainly is tough, and she’s tough in exactly the right way,” said Strobe Talbott, a former deputy secretary of state and now president of the Brookings Institution, where Ms. Rice has worked i