Few Blacks and Minorities In Obama Administration (Thus Far)

OK, So the American people seem to be happy with Barack Obama's appointments thus far.

Get this, President-elect Barack Obama approaches the White House with a deep well of public support, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. they report that nearly three-quarters of those surveyed felt positive about Obama's election as president. I do too, but

I must say, "I'm still concerned that Barack Obama has failed to reach the bar created by Bill Clinton who promised to change the government's complexion. Bill Clinton did a great job at it." Black Americans waited in long lines to vote for Change. African-American voters waited more than twice as long as others to vote in last month's presidential election, and Hispanics were asked to show identification more often-More HERE. Bill Clinton appointed blacks into his administration in great numbers, Why can't Barack Obama?

Photo: Eileen Blass, USAToday

Last week I posted on how many blacks and other minorities are in Barack Obama's Cabinet? In the post I noted that "Black folks, yes Blacks and Latinos Americans, like all Americans, are watching the new Obama administration closely regarding his Cabinet appointments. Many are wondering if diversity will be an issue in Obama’s Administration? In fact, many are wondering, will Obama's Cabinet favor whites? Black folks are even wondering if will get better Access to the White House."

I pointed out that US Today noted a number of years ago, until Bill Clinton, Presidential Cabinets were overwhelmingly the province of white Anglo men. They made up 85% of the appointments by President Reagan, who over eight years had only one African-American and one Hispanic in his Cabinet. White Anglo men made up 71% of the first President Bush's Cabinet. (The Cabinet statistics in this story reflect those offices designated by law as Cabinet posts. Some presidents have chosen to give other officials comparable Cabinet-level status.) More HERE

Clinton promised to change the government's complexion. "My commitment is to give you an administration that looks like America," he said during the 1992 campaign. "I would be astonished if my Cabinet and my administration and my staff ... is not the most fully integrated this country has ever seen."

Over eight years and 29 appointments, Clinton had in his Cabinet five women, seven African-Americans, three Hispanics (one of them named to two posts) and one Asian-American.

Over four years and 24 appointments, Bush has named to his Cabinet five women, four African-Americans, three Hispanics and two Asian-Americans.

Before Bush, no person of color had been named to any of the four most prestigious Cabinet jobs — at the departments of State, Treasury, Defense and Justice. Now he has named two blacks as secretary of State and a Mexican-American as attorney general.

When Clinton was elected to his first four-year term in 1992, one of the first things he did was appoint Blacks to his Cabinet. Among the Black Cabinet appointees during his two terms in office were Ron Brown, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Mike Espy, Secretary of Agriculture; Alexis Herman, Secretary of Labor; Hazel O'Leary, Secretary of Energy; Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation; Jesse Brown, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, who was succeeded by Togo West, and Dr. Jocelyn Elders, U.S. Surgeon General, who was succeeded by Dr. David Satcher.

Clinton also appointed nine Blacks as assistants to the president--the highest rank in the White House. Among those appointments were Ben Johnson, director of the President's Initiative for One America; Maggie Williams, the first lady's chief of staff; Alexis Herman, director of public liaison, White House, who later became labor secretary; Minyon Moore, director, political affairs; Terry Edmonds, director of speech writing; Thurgood Marshall Jr., director of Cabinet Affairs; Mark Lindsey, director of administration, and Bob Nash, director of personnel. Source

In Clinton's first term, 47% of those he appointed to the Cabinet were women or people of color. Bush had precisely the same percentage in his first term. By the end of Clinton's second term, his figure had risen to 52%. Source

As part of the post I asked a question: what will Barack Obama do?

Well let's take a look at the Obama administration, which appears to be the province of white men and women.

President’s office/staff:

-- Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel (Deputies: Jim Messina, Mona Sutphen -Woman)

-- Senior Advisers: Valerie Jarrett Black, Peter Rouse, David Axelrod

-- Political Director: Patrick Gaspard

-- Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs: Phil Schiliro

-- White House Counsel: Greg Craig
-- Press Secretary: Robert Gibbs
-- Communications Director: Ellen Moran- Woman (Deputy: Dan Pfeiffer -- Director of Scheduling and Advance: Alyssa Mastromonaco Woman
-- Staff Secretary: Lisa Brown Black
-- Cabinet Secretary: Chris Lu Minority
-- Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary: Desirée Rogers Black Woman-- Director, White House Military Office: Louis Caldera

Vice President’s office:
-- Biden’s Chief of staff: Ron Klain
-- Counselor to the Vice President: Mike Donilon
-- Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President: Terrell McSweeny
-- Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison: Evan Ryan

First Lady’s office:
-- Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff: Jackie Norris Woman (Deputy: Melissa Winter-Woman)

POTENTIAL CABINET MEMBERS:
-- Commerce: Bill Richardson Latino
-- Defense: Robert Gates
-- Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano Woman
-- Justice (AG): Eric Holder Black
-- State: Hillary Clinton Woman (Jim Steinberg-deputy
-- Treasury: Tim Geithner
-- Veterans Affairs: Eric Shinseki Minority
-- HHS: Tom Daschle
-- Energy: Steven Chu Minority

Read More HERE

Blacks, America, Obama and Ronald Reagan

I'm not sure if you caught Sen. Barack Obama comments to the Reno Gazette-Journal editorial board regarding of all people Ronald Reagan. Check out what is said:

I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what's different are the times...I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it.

I'm taking a second and third look at Obama. Does Obama remember what Ronald Reagan did to black America? Candidly, I'm feeling anyone who will kiss up to Republicans and use the name of Ronald Reagan, may not be the change agent America needs.

What did you think about Obama saying "Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not." Maybe Barack Obama should have read the late Steve Gillard's post on Ronald Reagan, when he wrote, "Reagan depicted blacks as "welfare queens" leeching off the society, when in reality, white women are the largest recipients of AFDC. Reagan used race like a club to hammer minorities and pander to the racist right."

Steve Gillard also noted, "We need to ask what hath Reagan wrought. His economic policies crippled this country, preventing the kind of long term structural changes which are still needed. How long will American businesses have to foot the bill for health insurance? How long will unequal funding for schools exist? How long will the right of women to control their bodies be subject to restrictions? This is the real, domestic legacy of Ronald Reagan. His breaking of the PATCO strike began the road to anti-Union policies across business. Once, businesses wanted labor peace, after Reagan, strike breaking was permitted, hell encouraged.

Reagan began the road of crippling America's ability to care for Americans. Now we have this failed trickle down economic policy pushed by yet another President. One that leaves Americans in record debt and record bankruptcies. Instead of tax rates which fairly distribute the burden of funding America, the rich have been encouraged to avoid their fair share. Ronald Reagan began the bankrupting of America and the creation of a super wealthy CEO class, one where their great grandchildren will never have to work, an aristocracy of trustifarians. Under Reagan hypocracy and selfishness became the rule of the road. Not just in public life, where his staff routinely lied, eventually leading to Iran-Contra.

But if Reagan started to ruin America, his foreign policy left the dead around like fallen leaves. His foreign policy was a disater by any standard. Dead nuns in El Salvador, murdered school teachers in Nicaragua, the tortured in Argentina, the seizure of Grenade, the failed intervention in Lebanon, the aerial assasination attempt on Khaddafi, which led to the bombing of Pam Am flight 103. Reagan's policies left a trail of failure and disaster at every turn.

How to explain funding the deeply corrupt Contras? Former Somocista generals who funded their war by the drug trade? Who murdered the innoncent. Or the war in Guatemala and the genocide of the indian population. Or the war in El Salvador, where American nuns, among many others, were raped and murdered. A government so callous that it murdered an archbishop in his church. Reagan's foreign policy left a trail of death and fear wherever it touched." More HERE

Maybe Barack Obama should read more about Ronald Reagan, and stop kissing up to Ronald Reagan supporters. They probably won't be voting for Obama anyway. But that is just my opinion, what's yours?

Are blacks prepared to elect Obama?

AAPP says: This could be the question of the 21st Century. Here is a great article by Eugene Robinson. Do you know the answer to the question? Check it out.

Are blacks prepared to elect Obama?
By Eugene Robinson

Are white Americans really, truly prepared to elect an African-American president?

Seriously, is a nation with such a long and shameful history of brutal slavery, Jim Crow segregation and persistent racism actually going to put a black man in the White House?

One of Barack Obama's principal tasks in the coming months may be convincing African-American voters that this whole phenomenon -- a black candidate with a well-financed campaign, proven crossover appeal and a real chance to win -- isn't just another cruel illusion.

I hear from African-Americans who are excited about Obama's candidacy but who suspect that somehow, when push comes to shove, "they" won't let him win. It's unclear who "they" might be -- white voters, the "power structure," the alignment of the stars -- and it's unclear how "they" are going to thwart Obama's ambition. The point is that, somehow, he'll be denied. More HERE