Today we dedicate a song to Barack Obama: “My Little Demon,” by Fleetwood Mac.
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Don’t mess with Barack Obama. In recent days has proven that he’s a shrewd man who knows how to maintain high percentages of success.
We assume that he wanted Hillary Clinton in his administration more than she wanted a high-level post, and she was the reason the “negotiations” we kept hearing about went on for so long. He finally won out, and on Dec. 1 named Clinton as his choice for secretary of state.
The pick in no way indicates that the two Democratic rivals are now buddy-buddy after a heated presidential race. They might have buried the hatchet, but there’s reason to assume they’ll both know exactly where it is in case they ever need to wield it again.
Remember the old saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
It was important to make Clinton part of his administration. That gives her a stake in its success. It offers the added benefit of mending rifts that formed within the party during the campaign and builds more support behind Obama’s presidency, but that’s a secondary concern.
More importantly, it gives the new president some protection in case things don’t go swimmingly. Clinton can’t very well rise up in two years at the “I told you so” candidate if she’s a major part of his administration. After all, nobody bought John McCain’s promises of change; with more than three decades in Congress, he couldn’t escape the perception that he was one of the members who had gotten this country into the mess it now finds itself.
With Clinton, his strongest opponent, on board, Obama essentially has increased his chances for a second term.
We don’t know how willingly the former first lady signed on to the Obama camp. This is where Obama’s genius comes to light. All the while he was “negotiating” with Clinton, according to the Washington media, the president-elect was also systematically picking up key Clinton aides and supporters for other parts of his administration. In doing so he essentially hired away much of the support on which Clinton would rely if she ever did mount a challenge.
By co-opting her posse, Obama left Clinton with two bitter choices: come on board, or try to launch a new campaign from scratch, and dig around for an entirely new set of aides and advisers to help her challenge the popular incumbent.
Simply put, he’s neutralized the one little demon who remained a threat.
Obama had the most organized presidential campaign of all the candidates, by far. Given that fact, and the shrewdness he’s shown so far in building an administration and consolidating his power in the Democratic Party, we could be in for a tight-knit, professional White House machine. Quite a change from the marauding band of cowboys we’ve had to deal with for the past eight years.
That could be great news, if one agrees with the policies and actions the new administration will bring before the American people. Otherwise, prepare to be overrun by a juggernaut.
