They just had a discussion on 1600 Avenue about the "left's" increasing unhappiness with Obama's cabinet picks. John Harwood hit the nail straight on the head in his commentary regarding this issue. First he notes what Obama himself referenced just the other day, that it in fact Obama who will be the "decider". Most importantly though, he points out that Obama hasn't backed away from any of his campaign promises. Sure, he's not talking about a windfall profits tax on the oil industry right now, but that is because that was tied to the high oil prices. John also pointed out that many of Clinton's promises like a middle class tax cut were gone with the wind by the time he took office.
As Harwood notes, just the opposite is happening, in fact Obama is now talking about bigger and bolder action. He's not even backing away from pursuing his green energy agenda in the face of falling oil prices.
I would add that Clinton made sure that his picks satisfied all the groups under the Dem umbrella, and then turned around and abandoned his populist campaign promises. I prefer what I have seen out of Obama so far. After the economy started falling apart Obama faced down the cries from all sides claiming that he would have to cut back on his plans. Instead he calmly explained why what he wanted to do before was needed now more than ever, just like he did regarding the need to continue pursuing green energy despite the fall in oil prices.
Plus, his approval ratings are about 80% due to what he has been doing during the transition. What would they be if he was appointing folks that would make us really really happy?
Bush tried that already, how did that turn out?