December 1 - Let the Adventure Begin!

"President Kennedy once said that engaging the world to meet the threats we face was the greatest adventure of our century. Well, Mr. President-elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century. And may God bless you and all who serve with you and our great country."

~ Hillary Clinton accepting Barack Obama's nomination as his Secretary of State, December 1, 2008

I love that Hillary spoke of her appointment, with a smile at Obama, as an "adventure." A serious job requiring a keen mind, a good sense of humor, and a desire to make a difference and pioneer a new course. How can these two (along with the rest of the team) not succeed?

President Elect Obama also named Bob Gates to remain at Defense (Gates is an out-of-the-closet Obamacon; he's been giving speeches for the last year on the need to beef up the State Department; apparently there are more military band musicians than foreign service officers, an imbalance he would like to rectify); Eric Holder for Attorney General ("It is incumbent upon those of us who lead the department to ensure not only that the nation is safe but also that our laws and traditions are respected." - can you believe that has become a foreign concept at the Bush/Cheney Department of Justice???); Janet Napolitano to be Homeland Security Chief; Susan Rice as UN Ambassador (re-elevated to a cabinet-level position); and the imposing Jim Jones as National Security Advisor.

I feel safe.

Other December 1 anniversaries of note:

Today is the 53rd anniversary of Rosa Parks' brave decision to not give up her seat on that Montgomery, Alabama bus, an event that further sparked the Civil Rights Movement and helped give rise to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is also the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, an event commemorated in Seattle with a glowing red Space Needle (see above) in support of the RED campaign.

And last, but certainly not least, today is my birthday. Happy day!

Gratitude for Family & Contentment

Blessings for the Obama family on their final Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago before the White House and Washington, DC overwhelm, but hopefully do not overcome, the contentment they find together.

"There are nine requisites for contented living: health enough to make work a pleasure; wealth enough to support your needs; strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them; grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them; patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished; charity enough to see some good in your neighbor; love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others; faith enough to make real the things of God; hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future."

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Transition Continues

I like conservative columnist David Brooks' words about the transition in today's New York Times:

"Obama seems to have dispensed with the romantic and failed notion that you need inexperienced “fresh faces” to change things. After all, it was L.B.J. who passed the Civil Rights Act. Moreover, because he is so young, Obama is not bringing along an insular coterie of lifelong aides who depend upon him for their well-being.

As a result, the team he has announced so far is more impressive than any other in recent memory. One may not agree with them on everything or even most things, but a few things are indisputably true.

First, these are open-minded individuals who are persuadable by evidence. Orszag, who will probably be budget director, is trusted by Republicans and Democrats for his honest presentation of the facts.

Second, they are admired professionals. Conservative legal experts have a high regard for the probable attorney general, Eric Holder, despite the business over the Marc Rich pardon.

Third, they are not excessively partisan. Obama signaled that he means to live up to his postpartisan rhetoric by letting Joe Lieberman keep his committee chairmanship.

Fourth, they are not ideological. The economic advisers, Furman and Goolsbee, are moderate and thoughtful Democrats. Hillary Clinton at State is problematic, mostly because nobody has a role for her husband. But, as she has demonstrated in the Senate, her foreign-policy views are hardheaded and pragmatic. (It would be great to see her set of interests complemented by Samantha Power’s set of interests at the U.N.)

Finally, there are many people on this team with practical creativity. Any think tanker can come up with broad doctrines, but it is rare to find people who can give the president a list of concrete steps he can do day by day to advance American interests. Dennis Ross, who advised Obama during the campaign, is the best I’ve ever seen at this, but Rahm Emanuel also has this capacity, as does Craig and legislative liaison Phil Schiliro.

Believe me, I’m trying not to join in the vast, heaving O-phoria now sweeping the coastal haut-bourgeoisie. But the personnel decisions have been superb. The events of the past two weeks should be reassuring to anybody who feared that Obama would veer to the left or would suffer self-inflicted wounds because of his inexperience. He’s off to a start that nearly justifies the hype."

Read the whole thing here.

Late edition: Even "The Fix" in the Washington Post likes Brooks' article.

Happy Birthday Joe Biden!

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." ~ Mark Twain

The Vice President Elect is 66 years old today. Yesterday, Barack Obama surprised him with birthday cupcakes in their Chicago transition office.

Heartfelt wishes for good health, a clear mind, and a steady hand during the coming year!

A Blessing for Equilibrium

Another beautiful blessing from John O'Donohue's book, "Benedictus," as President Elect Obama works in Chicago to assemble his administration.

A Blessing for Equilibrium

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,

May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.

As the wind loves to call things to dance,

May your gravity be lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,

May your thoughts recline with reverence and respect.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,

So free you may be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what's said,

May your sense of irony bring perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,

May your mind stay clear of all it names.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough

To hear in the depths the laughter of God.

("Benedictus" was published in the U.S. as "To Bless the Space Between Us")

Monday Meeting

"Compassion and nonviolence help us to see the enemy's point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition."

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Barack and Michelle Obama meet George and Laura Bush in the White House today. The New York Times remarks on the potential "for a meeting that could be as awkward as it is historic. . . (given). . . the personal chemistry between two leaders whose worldviews are miles apart."

Let's hope for some brotherly love!