neorealist
Jan 24th 2009, 01:20 AM
I understand the Washington consensus is a chess game...and hypocrisy must be enacted in order to get things accomplished....it has to be enacted to save face....and it has to enacted to get votes.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/23/william-lynn-obamas-first_n_160512.html
The nomination of William Lynn as Deputy Secretary of Defense has placed Barack Obama under the burn of political heat just days into the presidency.
Having lobbied the government on behalf of the defense industry giant Raytheon, Lynn's appointment violates the newly-instituted ethics guidelines that the president applied to his staff shortly after taking office. Questioned about the transgression, the White House said Lynn was being granted a waiver.
But there is a second layer to the Lynn issue that also is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of Democrats, good government groups and Republicans eager to cry hypocrisy. Raytheon is no mom-and-pop defense contractor shop. It is the type of industry behemoth that protesters of the Iraq invasion bemoaned for profiting off of the war and encouraging militarization. And as the man who led "the company's strategic planning and [oversaw] the government relations activity," Lynn was intimately involved.
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I had the chance to meet our new dep sec def, Bill Lynn...in fact I worked on a project for him and the executive mgmt team at RTN in our office last summer. He was a effective and cordial leader and a very very intelligent man when it came to DC politics and internal company politics. I only had the opportunity to spend a few minutes listening to his direct advice, but the former executive VP of government relations knew the game like a grandmaster. I think he would make a fine leader of the DoD and I'm sure all the guys back at 1100 Wilson in Arlington are thrilled to see him on the purchasing end now.
However, from the initial points of ethics and impartiality that stem from Obama's change, this does raise a justified eyebrow. Its seems to me that appointing a former top tier seller to the DoD to the 2nd highest position in the DoD.....well, it can be perceived as a conflict of interest to many.
From my limited knowledge, Bill did not a relationship with Obama...which means Obama is prolly appointing to gain some support from the defense sector. I would expect this move from Bush but no Obama...I"m sure there is more to this then what I or the MSM can provide.
I want to reiterate that I'm not disproving of Bill's appointment in any fashion. I am merely pointing out that it seems, unObama like when reviewing his ethics promises. So far Bill is the only one to be granted a special "waiver" according to the new admin.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/23/william-lynn-obamas-first_n_160512.html
The nomination of William Lynn as Deputy Secretary of Defense has placed Barack Obama under the burn of political heat just days into the presidency.
Having lobbied the government on behalf of the defense industry giant Raytheon, Lynn's appointment violates the newly-instituted ethics guidelines that the president applied to his staff shortly after taking office. Questioned about the transgression, the White House said Lynn was being granted a waiver.
But there is a second layer to the Lynn issue that also is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of Democrats, good government groups and Republicans eager to cry hypocrisy. Raytheon is no mom-and-pop defense contractor shop. It is the type of industry behemoth that protesters of the Iraq invasion bemoaned for profiting off of the war and encouraging militarization. And as the man who led "the company's strategic planning and [oversaw] the government relations activity," Lynn was intimately involved.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had the chance to meet our new dep sec def, Bill Lynn...in fact I worked on a project for him and the executive mgmt team at RTN in our office last summer. He was a effective and cordial leader and a very very intelligent man when it came to DC politics and internal company politics. I only had the opportunity to spend a few minutes listening to his direct advice, but the former executive VP of government relations knew the game like a grandmaster. I think he would make a fine leader of the DoD and I'm sure all the guys back at 1100 Wilson in Arlington are thrilled to see him on the purchasing end now.
However, from the initial points of ethics and impartiality that stem from Obama's change, this does raise a justified eyebrow. Its seems to me that appointing a former top tier seller to the DoD to the 2nd highest position in the DoD.....well, it can be perceived as a conflict of interest to many.
From my limited knowledge, Bill did not a relationship with Obama...which means Obama is prolly appointing to gain some support from the defense sector. I would expect this move from Bush but no Obama...I"m sure there is more to this then what I or the MSM can provide.
I want to reiterate that I'm not disproving of Bill's appointment in any fashion. I am merely pointing out that it seems, unObama like when reviewing his ethics promises. So far Bill is the only one to be granted a special "waiver" according to the new admin.