Attention continues to focus on President Elect Barack Obama’s possible selections for his staff and Cabinet, and some of the questions I’m hearing center on the dearth of Republicans popping up on the list. Today I’d like to address a couple of potential issues with this debate. It’s a tricky high wire act for Obama, with barriers being thrown up on both sides of the aisle.
The first question centers on how to make the offer in the first place. One thing that the President Elect can’t afford in this highly charged, partisan political environment is to make a public offer of a position to a Republican who then runs out in front of the media and says, “Are you kidding me? There’s no way I’m working for you!” He needs to thread the needle and feel people out to determine if they would even be open to the offer.
The second, and perhaps tougher question is the effect this has on the the Republican who considers such an offer. Would accepting a position in Obama’s Cabinet, be it ever so prestigious, effectively burn their bridges in their own party in terms of any future elections? Would they be viewed as a traitor who crossed over into enemy territory and can no longer be trusted. A brief look at the debate raging over Joe Lieberman should be an object lesson for anyone considering such a post-partisan position.
I would very much like to see the new president live up to his claims and build a team which draws the best and brightest ideas and people from both parties. It might go some ways to heal the current Red-Blue divide and get Congress working in an effective manner again. But the real Republicans available to Obama may be older warriors who are already out of office an no longer worried about future battles. This may be why Colin Powell is one of the only names in contention. His bridges are long since burned and he would have nothing to lose. Sadly, this limits the talent pool considerably.