Coming tomorrow morning, to a theater near you…
…the name of Trump’s Secretary of State.
I have a feeling that it’s going to be Rex Tillerson, if only because that’s the name that’s been leaked all over the place. The only thing that would give me any doubt at all is that Trump loves dramatic announcements, and our knowing in advance would take away some of the drama.
However, Romney has said “it ain’t me, babe”:
It was an honor to have been considered for Secretary of State of our great country. My discussions with President-elect Trump have been both enjoyable and enlightening. I have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to greater strength, prosperity and peace.
My guess is that one reason it’s Tillerson is that he and Trump were much more simpatico on Russia. Also, that Trump didn’t want to annoy his Romney-hating base.
So many deals to be made, so little time.
http://gdb.rferl.org/0C610179-C279-4DAD-8EBA-BEEB81D7A015_w987_r1_s.jpg
George Schulz impressed me as an effective S/S (full disclosure — he was Secretary in my early FS days) and Tillerson appears likely to be cut from the same cloth. Is it dangerous he has done deals with the Russians, or is that good experience? To be seen. . .
Senate confirmation will not be a problem if the Democrats believe, as the Republicans did in 2009, that a president should get the cabinet he wants. To be seen. . .
Can he tame a large institution that tends toward the liberal side of the political spectrum and is very slow to change? Also to be seen. . .
“Senate confirmation will not be a problem if the Democrats believe, as the Republicans did in 2009, that a president should get the cabinet he wants.”
Ha Ha Ha!
The day that happens a certain HOT place will Freeze over 🙂
Trump hasn’t changed as a person since the election so you can rely on his base instincts to still be operative.
1. Trump is favorable to Putin for no reason except as a pretend tough guy he is attracted to real tough guys. (Ditto for his preference for Generals)
2. Roger Stone is correct, Trump thinks he “tortured” Mitt by dangling state in front of him. Mitt strikes me as being too much of a grownup to be very bothered.
3. Trump’s business “management” style was to stiff contractors not in the negotiations but after the job was done. You can see this low rent approach in his tweets on Boeing and Lockheed.
4. He did not expect to win. He has done no thinking about foreign policy or how to isolate his business interests. Hotels, golf courses, and shares in office buildings are very easy to package and sell. He cannot let go.
5. His daughter and son-in-law look to be his top advisors. She pushes positions that her Manhattan female customers would value and here husband is certainly not a conservative. But they know how to push Dad’s buttons. How much could a cabinet officer work with this kind of direction from the boss.
Other than his campaign tweets, we have no real feeling for how Trump will govern. No legislation is in the works so far as we know to build his wall, change trade treaties, build up the military or anything else.
Trump knew he needed a master negotiator.
Donald loves Rudy, and vice versa, but Rudy is a prosecutor — not a negotiator.
The whole Mitt bit was but an olive branch to the GOPe, as he was their figure-head, ex-officio.
Mitt figures to be of counsel when 0-care is ‘restructured.’
Rex Tillerson has a deep track record of dealing with the Saudis, no doubt, as ExxonMobile is a huge customer for them. Dealings at that scale get kicked all the way up to the CEO, for sure.
ExxonMobile is so huge — one is temped to describe it as a corporate-nation — with its own ‘foreign policy’ staff, to boot.
Meat puppets meet the sock puppet
I think he believes Tillerson can do business with difficult oil people, including Putin. I don’t think it goes much deeper than that.
People who are upset about that might ask themselves what sort of deal he might negotiate with places like Iran, and whether they think Rex just might be an upgrade, even if not a star.
OM,
That was a zinger! However, Condi, Gates, and others approve of Tllerson as SOS. Your preferance, my preferance are just dust in the wind.
I had serious doubts about the donald, and still remain skeptical about his actions as POTUS, but I am willing to see what his regime will do during the first year. Presently, I think it will be a sequel of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. But I have been wrong before (obviously).
Good to see the old one liner OM is back. The sappy happy OM was looking like a Trum sock clone.
I had serious doubts about the donald, and still remain skeptical about his actions as POTUS
The onald is having serious doubts about the onald at this rate, otherwise he wouldn’t have picked so many heavy hitters. He would have “summoned” some apprentices to Trum Tower and then “Fired them” for kicks and giggles.
Now the game strategic balance has gotten a little bit too heavy for that kind of enjoyment. He’s still “summoning” people to Trum power, a nice phrasing by Neo.
Also, that Trump didn’t want to annoy his Romney-hating base.
The Mormon hating base.
The issue with Romney isn’t him being a Governor in a Democrat state or getting pulled under by Mass care. It’s his religion and how it conflicts with a whole bunch of other US factions and foreigners to boot.
To give a statistical inference of how much trouble the LDS organization can potentially cause all factions, patriotic or traitor alike, consider The Bundy Episodes.
He’s LDS. Not supported by the Church. Just prayed to God and somehow a militia appeared….
Russia has also perceived the potential disruption to their empire by the LDS organization, aka the Mormons, and have barred them from entrance in Russia. A significantly greater ban than even Commie China, which merely prevents the LDS missionaries from proselytizing but not from answering questions about their doctrine.
Thus having a Mormon as SOS vs Putin’s Russia, could start having all kinds of weird conflicts that nobody knows about. Trum may have been too cautious to take the risk, same goes for Romney as politics is not something the Amish or the Mormons like to mix with religious inspiration. Putin’s advisers sent to Trum via online exchanges, will also have mentioned their “reservations” concerning a Mormon SOS.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/14/with-rex-tillerson-pick-trump-crams-russia-down-neocon-throats.html
The Russians pick on domestic dissenters and foreigners, for nationalistic jingoistic pride. Trum, as a 70 yo Democrat, knows how to use the same trick to fool naive Americans.
That’s because humans are weak and most of them are trash, no point in expecting anything better.
They changed the link on me as I scrolled.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/09/russia-s-anti-mormon-campaign.html
Y still has a problem it seems with reading comprehension and brevity.
Is OM still calling himself a Christian? I would have thought he could ask God to become a prophet, then he’d known what my problems were.
It’s like the internet without having an ISP.
Brevity is the soul of wit; apathy is the soul of brevity.
You can do this one better. Get your real blade out /s, and get serious or get out, with your pseudo sane looking one liners. That’s not the Real OM.
DirtyJobsGuy Says:
December 13th, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Interesting analysis, if you get any of them right in the future, that’ll be something to remember.
Y:
The great outdoors are calling you again; take another hike.
Your problems are your problems. This isn’t a theology blog, or haven’t you noticed?
My goodness. How Romney’s tune has changed since before the election. So disappointing.