Musical Chairs

[Eric5273]

Is it just me, or are cabinet appointments like a game of musical chairs. Latest appointment is Leon Panetta as CIA chief. And what makes him qualified to be in charge of the CIA? Well, he was Clinton's Chief of Staff.

It seems as if Obama simply called up a whole bunch of ex-Clinton cabinet members, and then just gave them all new jobs. This guy was chief of staff last time, ok...we'll make him CIA director this time. "Everybody get up and move one chair to the left...."

And what's sad is it seems that the Bush Administration wasn't much different.....many of them were former Reagan and Ford cabinet members, and they too all got new jobs totally unrelated to their old ones.

Am I the only one who thinks the CIA chief should be someone who has spent a good amount of their life working in intelligence? Or should the Secretary of Defense actually be someone with some military experience? Or should the Secretary of State be someone who actually has worked at the State Department?

Instead we get former Generals as Secretary of State, people with no military experience as Secretary of Defense, former oil execs as National Security Advisor, and someone with absolutely no executive experience of any kind as head of FEMA. It makes no sense.

Imagine if a football coach filled his starting lineup this way. This guy punted last year...let's make him a wide receiver this year.....this guy was a defensive end last year....let's make him a kick returner this year...

We have a bunch of Washington insiders who simply trade favors, and very few of them are qualified to do the job they are given. Add the continuous corruption and lobbying that goes on in Washington, and it's no wonder that we end up with the results we get.

[Quicksilver]

We're talking politicians and you are surprised about this.....

Originally Posted by Eric5273

Latest appointment is Leon Panetta as CIA chief. And what makes him qualified to be in charge of the CIA? Well, he was Clinton's Chief of Staff.

[Eric5273]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

We're talking politicians and you are surprised about this.....

Not surprised, just quite disturbed. There should be certain requirements to hold various cabinet positions. While I don't think that elected offices, such as president, should have requirements since the people decide, I think non-elected positions should certainly have minimum requirements. Agencies such as the CIA or State Department should promote from within. Someone from the outside should not be brought in to manage an agency they have never worked for. It makes absolutely no sense. There are plenty of qualified people they can promote from within. Even if the particular president is looking for someone with liberal or conservative leanings, there are still plenty of qualified people who could be chosen from each agency.

[AzX5]

And don't forget the POS AZ Governor, with ZERO border enforcement credibility becoming Homeland Security Chief. She was awarded the position solely as reward for endorsing Obama early on in the campaign against Billary.

[motordavid]

I was surprised by the Panneta pick; he is smart and crafty,
but 70, and very little "real time" experience other than politics...

Otoh, GHW Bush, when appointed head of the CIA, had been
living off his oil billions and floating around as an ambassador
for a few years; not exactly a Spook resume' either.

Dunno...I would have thought there was some Jack Bauer type
that could have tapped.

[Eric5273]

Originally Posted by motordavid

Dunno...I would have thought there was some Jack Bauer type that could have tapped.

You would think....

Unfortunately, the CIA is no longer used as an intelligence organization. Instead, they have become detectives for the executive branch. Their job is to gather up evidence to support whatever foreign policy actions the President has already decided prior to hearing their input. And I suppose that only works if you have one of your own in charge of the agency.