Today on Morning Joe, Mark Halperin and Mort Zuckerman (also known as "Tool #1" and "Tool #2") were discussing the ramifications of an Obama presidency. They suddenly declared that Obama must "run from the center" and appoint Republicans to his administration.
What? Why?
In 2004, Bush barely got over 50%, and eked out the electoral vote by 16. He then declared that he had a mandate and had "political capital" that he was going to use. No one in the media found this to be a bizarre statement. Indeed, they all seemed to think it was cute, as though he is so adorable when he acts tough. The press pushed his razor-slim victory as a vindication of the 2000 vote, as though it wasn't a mistake. Not a call for Democrats to be added to his administration, to recognize the slimness of his margin.
Obama won the popular vote by over 52%. He got over 300 electoral votes (soon to be over 350 once they sort out NC). He ran away with this one in red states. Yet if he had said last night "I blew this one away, dammit, and I am going to run so far to the left I am going to fall off California" there would have been tut-tutting on every channel. Why doesn't he get to say he has a "mandate" (well, because he is too classy by half)? Hell with that. I say let him appoint Democrats to all the Cabinet posts. Appoint Democrats to run all the agencies. Appoint Democratic US Attorneys and judges. Appoint a Democrat to be White House chef. Run from the middle? Please.
I know that there has been a diary about not appointing Hagel to Sec. of Defense, but this got me so angry that I needed to vent. Thank you for your cooperation.