The Obama campaign has released the roster of its National Security Working Group. You’ll want to take your No-Doz before reading the full list:
Okay, one obvious quibble–what the hell does Eric Holder know about National Security? I know he did the high profile prosecution of Dan Rostenkowski and was instrumental in getting Marc Rich his presidential pardon, but even so, Holder’s national security bona fides aren’t immediately apparent. Since his name keeps coming up in regards to Obama-related activities, he’s probably your next Attorney General if Obama wins. While Holder wouldn’t be an inspiring pick, we could do worse. (Hint: rhymes with “Schmeval Schmatrick.”) But I digress. What really leaps out about the list is what a thoroughly conventional crew of advisors Obama has cobbled together. Does anyone really think Warren Christopher will devise a revolutionary national security plan? Or Madeline Albright? Or Tony Lake? This goes back to what I was saying about Obama a couple of weeks ago. Rhetorical skills aside, Obama is a decidedly inside-the-box thinker. If he were really going to take America’s national security in a new direction, he wouldn’t be seeking counsel from these fossils. Obama’s penchant for conventional–nay, clichéd–thinking provides equal measures of hope and fear. Those who fear that Obama might just turn over our national security checkerboard can probably breathe easier. That’s not how this particular politician rolls. But the reliance on such a conventional cast of advisors suggests that Obama hasn’t really given much thought to national security. Instead, he has opted for the George H.W. Bush route of prudence. Everyone on the list of advisors (with the exception of Holder) has establishment credentials. If Obama has a national security vision, it remains impossible to discern.
