Developing: Pakistani Plane Escorted by UK Fighter Jets — 2 Men Arrested

Listen to the Buck Sexton Show Live on TheBlaze Radio

Government

Who Could Be Fired If Obama Changes His Cabinet in Second Term?

Sep. 5, 2012 8:00am Mytheos Holt

In 2008, Barack Obama ran on the promise of change.

Proving he has delivered it – and in the right way – will be one of the key challenges he faces at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In this respect, the president may have a tough sell. Many conservative observers view President Obama as a radical trying to shift the dominant philosophy of government in the United States dramatically to the left.

On the other side, hard-line liberals of the type that empathize with the “Occupy” movement see Obama as a boring, technocratic disappointment, who has preserved some of the worst policies of the Bush administration, and sold out to corporate interests on the rest of his agenda.

Voters in the center, meanwhile, may not accept either of these skewed narratives entirely, but polls suggest that they are still disappointed with President Obama’s variety of change, since it has thus far failed to induce a faster economic recovery.

Nevertheless, Obama remains stubbornly ahead in the polls, and the preponderance of current mathematical and statistical models suggest that he remains the favorite. And as in 2008, Obama is still running, perhaps too derivatively for comfort, on change.

Which raises the question: If Obama wins, what would he actually change from his first four years?

One immediate place he might start could be his cabinet. Unusually for a sitting president, many of Obama’s cabinet members have transcended their role as deputies to the president himself and become national symbols of administrative malfeasance all on their own, whether it be Eric Holder’s troubling association with Operation Fast and Furious, or Janet Napolitano’s allegedly abusive, frat house-esque management techniques, or Steven Chu’s questionably ethical advice to private actors, or Lisa Jackson’s seeming inability to keep her EPA deputies from blurting out inconvenient statements. Even with a high degree of competence, this many questionable stories is a problem for a Presidency, and suggests that the people involved should be replaced with more dull, even-handed replacements who are harder to target.

We have already begun the process of looking at who Mitt Romney would put in place as part of his cabinet if he was put in power. This much shorter list will be something of the reversal of that – which cabinet members should Obama fire if he’s given a second term, and why? As with our Romney cabinet list, we will divide these picks into different categories, though the categories will be different. The first set will be designated as “campaign liabilities” – the people whose unpopularity is so pervasive that it could drag the president down at the polls, while the less well-known but no less problematic ones will be listed as “governance liabilities,” in other words they are people with low profiles who have alienated people Obama will need if he wants to govern successfully. Within these categories, we will further categorize individual people as the one who could be fired, the one who won’t be fired, and the one who will leave.

Campaign Liabilities

Which Cabinet Members President Obama Might Fire If Hes Reelected

Eric Holder (Photo Credit: Getty)

The one who could be fired: Eric Holder, Attorney General

Holder has committed arguably the cardinal sin of a cabinet appointee – namely, dragging the president into a scandal that should have been limited to him. President Obama’s invocation of executive privilege to shield Holder over Operation Fast and Furious has exposed the president to messy vulnerabilities regarding the scandal, but if Holder goes, the bleeding could be slowed. However, Holder maintains a visceral connection with the president’s African-American supporters, and firing him could be seen as caving to racism, especially given all the cover figures like Al Sharpton have given him. He could hang on as a nod to them.

Lisa Jackson (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

The one who won’t be fired: Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator

Jackson’s EPA is arguably responsible for the erosion of the president’s polls among rust belt voters in energy-rich states. With her deputies calling for the “crucifixion” of businesses that don’t comply, and saying the EPA’s preferred environmental path is “painful every step of the way,” not to mention Jackson’s own stubborn refusal to admit that her department is at all to blame for job losses, she would seem to be a politically smart person to remove. However, given this administration’s track record on environmental issues, as well as President Obama’s own stubbornness on energy production via the Keystone Pipeline, it’s unlikely that Jackson will be dropped. Her brand of intransigence, unlike Holder’s, is not related to a universally reviled scandal, but instead to an environmental ideology which, while pretty widely reviled in some swing states, is held in esteem by the White House.

Hillary Clinton (Photo Credit: Getty)

The one who will leave: Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State

At first blush, Hillary Clinton doesn’t look like a campaign killer for Obama. Indeed, she’s one of the more popular members of his administration. However, because Clinton has such a tendency to overshadow the current administration (to say nothing of her husband), it’s not hard to see why the Obama team will shed few tears after seeing the back of her. With Clinton having already decided to leave, this will give Obama a chance to nominate a replacement that he can define, rather than the reverse. Whether that’s a good thing will depend on your point of view.

Governance Liabilities

Janet Napolitano (Photo Credit: AP)

The one who could be fired: Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security

Like Holder, Napolitano has critics on both sides of the ideological spectrum. Civil libertarians loathe her “Big Sis” image and defense of the TSA, while conservatives view her as a humorless ideological enforcer with contempt for the country’s immigration laws. Her own staff has attacked her management style as resembling an anti-meritocratic frat house. In short, Napolitano can’t keep anyone happy, and it’s very difficult to see why an Obama administration would preserve her position.

Timothy Geithner (Photo Credit: AP)

The one who won’t be fired: Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury

If Geithner leaves the White House, it will be on his terms. The Obamas fought to keep him after Geithner indicated in 2011 that he was thinking of going back to New York, indicating that the president has come to rely on the man who many see as the face of the slow economic recovery. That’s a powerful argument for keeping him, even if Geithner is currently mired in a corruption scandal. The Obama administration could also be skittish about replacing their main economic adviser, especially given that, if they win, the election will be seen, at least in part, as a vindication of Obama’s economic approach. As such, the president may decide that, to quote Margaret Thatcher, “this is no time to go wobbly.” Keeping Geithner is many things, but it isn’t wobbly.

Steven Chu (Photo Credit: AP)

The one who will leave: Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy

With many of Chu’s senior staff having left last year, it’s not difficult to imagine the soft-spoken Nobel Prize winner deciding that ending his tour of duty is a good plan. Chu has never appeared to harbor political ambitions, and his departure could clear the Obama administration of some of its reputation for corrupt relationships with the alternative energy world. Moreover, serving more than one term in a post like this is uncommon, unless there are serious political reasons. Chu doesn’t appear to have such reasons. Finally, Chu’s comments about painting roofs a particular color and getting gas prices up to the level of Europe probably wouldn’t be missed around the White House communications office.

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

Back to The Blaze »

Comments (42)

Jim in Houston
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 11:16am
The question s moot, since there will be NO second term!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- drattastic
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 11:23am
  How right you are.
  
  Report this comment
Bohump
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 10:37am
Start at the TOP, .. An the rest will Follow.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Grand design
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 10:30am
Start at the top and work to the bottom! Anyone who is a Democrat (or a Socialist, or a Marxist, or a Communist) trying to ruin our economy and anyone who has allegiance to another country should be out! Anyone who is working to destroy this nation should be removed! After that, we can now start shrinking the size of Government! With Government smaller,we can now reduce taxes!

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
S.Sailor
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 10:17am
This question is “moot”…..

Why is it being asked ?

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Rightlife
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 10:13am
If he wins….lol…. He has already won.

The GOP has done NOTHING.. NOTHING but lie for years.. Hey!! Jobs??? Remember??? lol.. MeBaggers just get in office and go swim naked in Israel… lol.. how much did that “Fact finding” trip cost … Mebaggers hypocrites.. but that is ok.. you would vote for em anyhow.

Obama has Won.. Deal With it.. He has.. See ya all in November. Ha!!!!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Jim in Houston
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 11:20am
  Man that crap you have been smoking has destroyed your tiny brain. Now go cash your welfare check and don’t forget to pick up your food stamps – LOSER.
  
  Report this comment
kindling
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 10:03am
1 MILLION second equals 12 days.
1 BILLION seconds equals 32 years.
1 TRILLION seconds equals 32,000 years.

Do you see the difference? I have this written on the back window of my SUV and I have people ask me ALL the time if it is true. Most stand stunned when I say yes. The sad part is that I have had people stop me and ask me if my car is for sale because I have something written on the window.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
ropati
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:50am
What difference does it make. The Cabinet only met once during the past four years. Brockie is busy with his czars.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Detroit paperboy
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:43am
Dear Blaze, did you really have to publish the photos ? What a freak show……….

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
termyt
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:41am
What does it matter? He never talks to them.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
zoro51
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:35am
NO 2nd term its bene foretold his ruin. america shall be restored by another… not obama the non american born muslum leftists

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
loveoursoldiers
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:33am
He will not fire his twin, Holder. Holder has done a stellar job in his eyes.
He would keep all Muslims and blacks and get rid of all whites ( sorry Timmy.. Van Jones needs a job). His appointments will all be black and/or Muslim.
Our flag will change because we want to honor the real founders of our country.. the Muslims
I see it as clear as day. I see it because he has already shown it in certain ways. His Muslim outreach and his distain for Israel are big red flags ( PI) Hello.. add it up!

The people who wrote this are clueless to who Obama really is. They are thinking rationally which doesn’t work against someone as deceitful and as hell bent on the destruction of America as BO.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
PIGSWILLNEVERFLY
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:28am
http://www.gulagbound.com

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
ginger100
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:25am
You mean the Social Security firing squad? Probably tea party people.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- betsyyoung
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:33am
  You are one of the uneducated!
  
  Report this comment
- ginger100
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:41am
  Ouch, I’m gonna vote for him 100 times. Now who is uneducated?
  
  Report this comment
daxbrady
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:24am
second term? what second term….. There won’t be a second term

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
ktmrider1
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:23am
we won’t need to ponder that cause obumer will be flushed pretty soon here

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
PPMStudios
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:13am
If we just fire Obama in November, this will be nothing more than a moot point…

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- betsyyoung
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:22am
  Exactly!
  
  Report this comment
alpha2omega47
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:05am
Dictators don’t need a cabinet. If Obama gets re-elected ~ so be it; the morons that vote for him will get what they deserve ~ they will be slaves to the government. I also feel confident that after this election Obama will forget about all of us; to include all of these whining special interest groups. Obama will be evil unleashed if he is re-elected. I’m voting for Mitt Romney and that’s all I can do. Gullible, lazy morons will vote for whom they are told to vote for by their sheep herders.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- betsyyoung
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:24am
  Sad, is it not, that there are so many that are so Uneducated!
  
  Report this comment
Gonzo
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:51am
It won’t matter who stays or goes if the Marxist philistine gets four more. The country will be lost.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- Inlightofthings
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:05am
  Inversely, it won’t matter if he doesn’t get re-elected….they all go. How exciting is that!
  
  Report this comment
SquidVetOhio
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:20am
Does it matter? This article is an exercise in futility. Does any remember Stalin’s cabinet equivalent?

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- TRONINTHEMORNING
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:25am
  No, it doesn’t matter cuz this punk ain’t gonna win again.
  
  Report this comment
- SquidVetOhio
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:51am
  Agreed. I don’t believe the polls. I don’t think it’s even going to be close. I live in Ohio and I know A LOT of people who voted for him last time that definitely is not going to this time. And some are life-long Democrats. I believe Ohio is going to Romney and we all know what that means……
  
  Report this comment
Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:19am
Let’s pray to God that they ALL get fired in November!

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- betsyyoung
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 9:35am
  I’m praying!
  
  Report this comment
v15
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:16am
Maybe he’ll fire them all because dictators don’t need cabinets

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
randy
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:14am
God help us, there won’t be a second term.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Capt_Gregg
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:13am
Hopefully the question of which of Obama’s cabinet members stay or go will be rendered moot this November.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
floridareader
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:13am
Is it really a good idea to think on a second term for BHO?
God forbid seeing him in America’s White House in the night of January 20th, 2013.

Report this comment
Log in to Reply Reply
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:04am
Obama will keep them all if he can. Any that leave will be replaced by fanatical extremists who are as radical as Obama.

Report this comment
Log in to ReplyReply
- NDPINDNT
  Posted on September 5, 2012 at 8:10am
  I’m going to stay positive and say we won’t have to worry about it because he won’t get re-elected.
  
  Report this comment

It appears that you have Javascript Disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser preferences for a better user experience on TheBlaze. You can not comment without Javascript enabled.