Friday, January 09, 2009

Obama To Nominate Lobbyist As Defense Deputy

Yet more backing off of campaign promises. 

President-elect Barack Obama, who campaigned on lessening lobbyist influence in government, has chosen a defense expert who is currently a vice president and lobbyist for one of the country’s biggest defense contractors to be his deputy secretary of defense.

Obama’s transition office announced that William Lynn, an undersecretary of defense in President Bill Clinton’s second term, has been nominated as Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ deputy.

Lynn is currently a senior vice president at Raytheon, which has billions of dollars in Defense Department contracts and is the maker of the Army’s Patriot Missile system and the Tomahawk missile used by the Navy. The company is also developing a global positioning satellite communication system with the Air Force.

As deputy secretary, Lynn would be involved in the process of budgeting and acquisitions, in addition to running the day-to-day operations of the Defense Department.

Obama’s transition office acknowledged that appointing a lobbyist did not, on the face of it, seem in line with the president-elect’s ethics stance but that Lynn’s qualifications and the recommendations that came from both Republicans and Democrats made him the top candidate.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0809 hrs
Military + Politics + Politics - General

  1. a senior vice president at Raytheon

    Just another reason why I voted 3rd party.

    I wish I could see the faces of all the pinko lefties who believed that Obama was different; someone who would not be influenced by businesses and big campaign contributors; that he would be a pacifist and focus solely on free health care and carbon emissions.

    Obama is proving to be just as big a business whore as Clinton or any entrenched GOP pol.

    Posted by David on January 09, 2009 at 0927 hrs


  2. Halliburton.  Raytheon.  Whatever.

    I’m waiting for the gnashing of teeth and the beating of breasts from the left.

    Could it just be that sometimes lobbyists and industry insiders have a specific knowledge set that are useful in particular sectors of government, yet our Bush detractors failed to recognize that that might just be the case?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 09, 2009 at 0941 hrs


  3. I was Ok with Panetta at the CIA.  The CIA works for the civilian government, not for themselves.    This, however, is a terrible choice.    Defense contractors are the absolute last people who should be in charge of DoD.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 09, 2009 at 1009 hrs


  4. I believe that Lynn was the guy in charge at Defense in ‘99 and 2000 when they ‘misplaced 3.3 trillion. Hell uof a guy for ‘change’.

    Posted by Billiam on January 09, 2009 at 1049 hrs


  5. I wish I could see the faces of all the pinko lefties who believed that Obama was different;

    You’ll be waiting a long time.  Denial and self-justification are pretty masterful qualities.

    When you like someone, they could shit on your doorstep and you’d call it a gift.

    When you don’t like someone they could donate you a kidney and you’d criticize them a kiss-ass.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 09, 2009 at 1051 hrs


  6. One more thought… I was at the gym the other day and a group of 3 black guys on the bench next to me were wishing each other a happy new year.

    One said to the other “oh it will be”  “We got a good president now”

    When this persons life isn’t any better in a year than it was today, I might make the mistake of thinking they will come to their senses that government (and a black president) isn’t the 2nd coming.  But I know better.  In a year, they will just say that the “white establishment” prevented Barack from doing what he would have done to make everything better, or that the republicans blocked everything or some other excuse.  As I said above.  Self-justification for things and adjusting reality around what you want to believe is a talent most people have gotten down to a science.

    oh, and here-here David on voting 3rd party

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 09, 2009 at 1056 hrs


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