Winner 2013 Webby Awards for Best Political Website
June 20, 2013

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     chris hedges     economy     nsa     politics     robert scheer
Most Read

Reporter Who Brought Down the 'Runaway General' Dead at 33

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Supreme Court Warning

Warren Opposes Obama Nominee, Lawmaker Urges Gender-Role Class for Kids, and More

Quelle Surprise! Haiti on the Mend

How American University Got Involved in Israel's Public Interest

Most Comments
Most Emailed




The Unwinding


Truthdig Bazaar
Why Americans Hate Politics

Why Americans Hate Politics

By E.J. Dionne
$14.00

more items

 
Ear to the Ground

Is This Heaven? No, It’s Team Obama

Email this item Email    Print this item Print    Share this item... Share

Posted on Dec 17, 2008
ENTER_ALT_TEXT
nytimes.com

Whoops: Vilsack threw his support to Hillary Clinton after briefly seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination himself.

Doing little to slough the stereotype that Midwestern governors are automatically good at farming, Barack Obama has announced the next nominee to his presidential inner circle: former Iowa governor and presidential candidate Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary.


The New York Times:

President-elect Barack Obama has selected former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa to serve as his agriculture secretary, according to officials familiar with the decision, and will make the announcement on Wednesday as he works to round out his remaining cabinet nominations.

Mr. Vilsack, who briefly sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2008 race after serving two terms as governor, is a strong proponent of renewable energy and developing the nation’s alternative fuel industry. He will be joined at a news conference here by Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado, who will be nominated as interior secretary.

Mr. Vilsack’s nomination comes at a time of extraordinary tumult for the American agricultural industry, which not only has been battered by the recession, but is also increasingly entangled in the contentious debate over energy policy. The Agriculture Department is also contending with a sharp increase in the demand for food assistance in the wake of the economic turmoil.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


New and Improved Comments

If you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy.

screamingpalm's avatar

By screamingpalm, December 19, 2008 at 1:48 am Link to this comment

Vilsack is yet another horrible pick…

It looks like Obama has FINALLY made some good picks with his science advisers though. John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco may be about the only decent selections we get out of him. Considering the way the rest of this administration is shaping up, I wonder if they’ll be able to get anything done.

Report this

By KDelphi, December 18, 2008 at 5:39 pm Link to this comment

I was never really an Obama supporter. But, yes, I am surprised, by things like his appoints ( I know theyre not appointed yet, ok?!)—Vilsack, Chu,Summers, Volcker, Warner…

Yes, I am surprised that, there is not ONE , even, “sortve” progressive, in the bunch.

Hell, theyre not even moderates.

Report this

By Nannie, December 18, 2008 at 5:32 pm Link to this comment

” You gotta dance with the one who brung ya ”

Report this

By Jaded Prole, December 18, 2008 at 6:00 am Link to this comment

Well we tossed the dice on the mystery man and it came up snake eyes. Is anyone really surprised? It’s over for this country. Rather than bringing in the brightest experts on economic or ecological issues, he’s sticking with the same creeps that got us here. No “thinking out of the box” allowed.

Report this

By KDelphi, December 17, 2008 at 11:53 pm Link to this comment

You know, the one thing I sortve “hung onto”, as to where we might stop the “pay for play”, was what Obama had said about subsidies for huge agri-business. No, I am NOT talking about “family farms”—all the ones I grew up with have been gobbled up by agri-business!

I was hoping for someone who would address biofuels (driving up food prices), the pollution of huge animal business (and the cruelty!), all the sickness it causes…and some of the causes of US early death.

I never dreamed we would get a preacher connected with the Right! Where the hell is Rev. Wright?? (who looks rather good these days!) Salazar had the balls to wear his fricking cowbosy hat!! I THOUGHT WE WOULD BE THROUGH with that for awhile , with an Af Am from Chicago!! Salizar’s “record” is abysmal. DO NOT say that this is “what people should have expected”! Bullshit! I dont believe that any Obama supporters expected this at all…

There is not anything even close to a “progressive” in the bunch.

What do we have, a Blue Dog from Chicago??

Dems can say anythign they want. This is absurd—even for a Dem!

Report this

By Trebla, December 17, 2008 at 11:37 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

California is and has been the #1 Ag state for more than 50 years. Why do we always have to hear about the “heartland” folks and their values and end up with their governor? Real Ag people come from California.

Report this

By Tim Kelly, December 17, 2008 at 10:54 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

More Obama actions not matching his rhetoric.  As noted by G. Anderson, Vilsack is a supporter of genetically modified foods.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_15573.cfm

How long do we have to wait before trying to stop Obama’s “master plan?”  When do the liberals and progressives wake up and realize the Democratic Party is just a different head to the same enemy?

Report this
G.Anderson's avatar

By G.Anderson, December 17, 2008 at 9:46 pm Link to this comment

Vilsack is bad news, he’s a supporter and friend of big agri business, and also of genetic enegineering of food.

Vilsack’s nomination is an endorsment of dangerous, untested, and unlabeled genetically engineered crops.

It’s backward thinking, at a time when an environmentally sound policy of sustainable agriculture should be developed, and it’s a dangerous portent of things to come for the Obama administration.

Report this

By Maani, December 17, 2008 at 3:42 pm Link to this comment

The backlash against Salazar is already starting - and reported in the MSM, no less!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/us/politics/18salazarcnd.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

Peace.

Report this

By dihey, December 17, 2008 at 10:38 am Link to this comment

I know that Vilsack supported Hillary Clinton in the primary but he is the super-darling of the “ethanol-crowd” which contributed gobs of money to the Obama campaign. Is this play-for-pay Chicago style?

Report this

By Maani, December 17, 2008 at 10:06 am Link to this comment

Well, Vilsack may or may not be a great pick, but Salazar is a nightmare!  Here is just a short list:

-Friend and supporter of Alberto Gonzales

-Supported Joe Lieberman over Ned Lamont

-Actively opposed endangered species listing for black-tailed prairie dog

-Voted against the CAFE fuel standards for cars and trucks

-Voted to end protections re offshore drilling in Florida’s Gulf Coast

-Voted against a bill that would require the Army Corp of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects

-Has a 60% rating from the Defenders of Wilderness, a 25% rating by the Humane Society of the U.S., and a 0% rating from the Fund for Animals

And that’s just the Wiki stuff!  I’m sure there is even more if his Senate voting record is checked.

What was Obama thinking in choosing another James Watt for Sec’y of the Interior?!

Peace.

Report this
Newsletter

sign up to get updates


 
 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
© 2013 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.