Both men put up their policies to a public vote and the public chose which policies they were in favour of so it would be dishonest to put McCain in the cabinet.
Whats the point in having an election if the loser gets into government anyway?
Heads you win,Tails you win.
IMO it would also set a bad precedent for the future and undermine the democratic process of the most powerful country on Earth.
Also it would smack of cronyism.
Only if he wins the death match with Cosby.
I seriously like the idea, though not this particular application of it. McCain has disqualified himselffrom being the Secretary of Anything by running such an inept directionless campaign. But I can conceive of a world in one’s opponent clearly had enormous competence in some particular area, but you defeated him anyway, that one area notwithstanding.
I could imagine W. appointing Gore to be his Secretary of Education, for example, which would have given his bullshit campaign slogan of “a uniter, not a divider,” a few more months of credibility.
Bill Clinton had a Republican Secretary of Defense. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to have an opposite party member in the Cabinet.
Cabinet heads do not make policy. They implement policy which means they work at the pleasure of the President.
And McCain is in government. He may be less trouble in a Cabinet seat.
Honestly I’d find him a sweet Ambassadorship. McCain is old. He could coast out his last few years in style and leisure and honor and be out of the hair of the President.
Secretary of Defense is a bad example, as that position is almost always filled by a Republican anyway.
Why would McCain want to be in Obama’s cabinet? He’s one of the top dawgs in the Senate. Same goes for Hillary. People have some weird idea that the cabinet is a step up for a powerful Senator. It’s not.
Do you apply this logic to Hillary Clinton? She lost the election too, but I don’'t see anyone saying that she should be banned from serving in Obama’s Cabinet and IMO she pummelled him much more effectively than McCain did.
I agree that he could be put in a honorable position where he has less power then he would as senator. I’m surprised that so many think this is a horrible idea. I could be biased since I used to support McCain…so I don’t see him as the evil bastard that many apparently do. I agree he ran a slimy campaign (just like Hillary did), but I actually think he is a decent man at his core who would not undermine his president. And of course the president wouldn’t be foolish enough to hand him a position of real power anyway. But I think the gesture could do a lot to reduce the ‘us vs them’ mentality that seems to come with every new administration and Obama could be seen as a ‘reach across the aisle’ kind of guy.
Are any Republicans weighing in here or are most who replied Democrats?
I think it may makes sense for Obama to work with McCain on some initiative where they have reasonably similar views. Earmarks or global warming perhaps. There are probably millions of McCain voters who were seriously considering Obama as well. A conciliatory gesture towards McCain early on in his administration will go a long way attracting many of these voters to Obama. However a cabinet position for McCain IMO is unnecessary. I can’t think of any cabinet position where he both has genuine expertise and similar views to Obama.
Offer him Secretary of Veterans Affairs or ambassadorship to Ghana, perhaps- something that in the unlikely event he accepts he can’t do any real damage at. Save the plum cabinet and diplomatic posts for Sarah Palin of course, who’s already said she’d be thrilled to work on D.C.; make her ambassador to Russia and she’d barely have to commute.
I had forgotten about Veteran Affairs. That is a post McCain is qualified for without being at odds with Obama’s core positions. I doubt he would accept it though. I suppose Obama could offer it anyway but it could be interpreted as an insult. I think it’s best to forget about McCain in the cabinet and think about some piece of bipartisan legislation where Obama could work with McCain. The key is to push it early when voters are still paying a bit of attention.
No he chose someone who said he was “unfit to lead” for his running mate.
What in the world would make anyone think that McCain would be willing to serve in the Cabinet??? Takes two to tango…
back in the olden days, before indoor plumbing, the loser of the election won the wonderful position of vice president.
totally explains the lack of power in that position… well, until cheney that is.
First and foremost, this is not going to happen. Obama probably wants to find some common ground on which McCain would be supportive in the Senate, and that’s a very good idea. Working with Republicans in the cabinet would also be a good idea.
McCain’s been a senator for 25 years. I can’t really see him wanting to be Obama’s secretary for veterans affairs - or for that matter, homeland security or anything else. He wouldn’t be offered a policy position because his views are too different from Obama’s.
That’s what I was gonna say.
Obama has said he will appoint a Republican to his Cabinet but has given no hint as to who that might be.
He might not consider McCain for other reasons, such as competence, but imo Obama would not rule McCain out simply because they’ve been adversaries and McCain’s called him every name in the book.He seems to appreciate opposing view points and wants to model his administration after Lincoln’s. I find this strategy very intriguing whether it involves John McCain or not.
I agree that Obama should appoint a Republican to his Cabinet.
But McCain is too old, too aggressive and has never held high office.
However there is a Republican who:
Surely Obama has a wonderful choice of putting ex-President Bush in charge of:
:smack:
It would be a terrible idea for Obama to appoint a Republican to be Secretary of Defense. It would just reinforce the meme that only Republicans are “strong on defense.”