In all, some 25 members of the Daschle team hold key positions in the Obama camp, including deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer and consultant Anita Dunn, who helped run Bill Bradley’s campaign in 2000.
Now that the race is down to two, I’ve been trying to do my civic duty and learn more about the candidates so that I can make a informed decision. Accordingly, over the last week I’ve read more then a few articles about Barrack Obama. While he is often touted as the first “black” to have a chance to become president, my first observation has been that his inner inner, inner and outer circle are 99% white, male and older. They are also mainly out-of-work (retired or voted out of office) politicians, or retreads that worked for those out-of-work politicians or people that knew out-of-work politicians or knew the retreads that use to work for out-of-work politicians. If this is change, then change is recovering your old, lumpy sofa with a shiny cover and calling it new. How can it be that a “black” candidate has so little black voice among his most trusted advisors? I mean, for all his emphasis on the need to change I would think that his inner circle would be more then the white-wash it is now. And we know that there are plenty of African-American, Asian-American and Hispanics that can fill these roles. This was evident in the Clinton Administration … and even true (bite my tongue) to a much, much lesser degree in Dubya’s (read: Colin Powell, Condi Rice, and Alberto Gonzalez). Perhaps, the complexion will all change if he becomes president but the chances are that these are the folk that will occupy key positions of power and influence in and on his administration. So, then while Clinton might have jokingly been the first black president, Obama might be the whitest black president ever. And that ain’t no joke. Stay tuned for further thoughts as I learn/read more about the candidates
Obama’s Brain Trust
A Delegator, Obama Picks When to Take Reins
Barrack Obama’s super marketing machine