Presidential Cabinet Picks

"Obama Cabinet Picks Overlook Southern Talent" by v. johns

In composing this blog, I prefer to keep it local. There are more than enough talking heads on TV and enough scribes in the blogosphere discussing national politics without me putting my hat into the ring. Besides that, I prefer aftermarket discussion and analysis to forcasting and speculation. I'd rather leave the news gathering, and the punditry, to the experts -and the hacks. But there's one thing that has been haunting me about President-elect Obama's cabinet picks that I simply must comment on, at least briefly. Something that, if I had followed my instincts and blogged about it the instant I thought of it, I would have been one of the first to bring it up. But at present moment, ABC News and others have beaten me to the punch. And that thing is the fact that, Obama seems to be overlooking Southerners in the construction of his future administration. This is my first major disappointment with Obama. 

I'm not expecting Mr. Obama to work miracles. That's God's job. But I am expecting him to keep, as closely as possible, to his campaign promises. Mr. Obama won, partly, on the promise of uniting America along various lines of division and separation. One sure way to blow that promise would be to replace Bush's predominantly Southern regime with an overwhelmingly Northern center of gravity. This last decade came to be, in part, because of tensions, described by some as "culture wars," between Northern and Southern ideals (Walker: Texas Ranger vs. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Sex in the City). As we speak, there's still mild tension between native Floridians and Northern transplants from New York and New Jersey. Some of it being played out in the form of what taxes and fees should be paid by whom regarding the matters of home ownership and insurance. 

No one, south of the Mason Dixon, nor west of the Misissippi, wants New York to dictate their worldview to us. Inspired, we may be. But talked down to, the way the Northern elites have traditionally done, won't win any friends in the South -or the West. Our way of life may be different, but under former President Clinton, the South, while retaining its character and pride, was beginning to, finally, come into the fold and make inroads into areas that northerners considered us behind them in: infrastructure, education, race relations, etc. While prosperity and perception was beginning to change in the South, the North was beginning to lose population and political clout. 

Even under Bush, southern states have made significant strides in diversifying their economies and shifitng from a primarily agricultural base to branching out into manufacturing, finance and technological innovation. Regions, such as South Florida and the Research Triangle region in North Carolina, have formed around clusters of smaller cities that are now finding themselves with the same problems, needs and demands of a full-sized northern metropolis. 

Regardless of who Obama picks, the fact remains that the South will continue to trend toward gaining population and political representation. The center of gravity of his nation will continue to shift from the North and Midwest to the South and the West. If the Obama Administration fails to recognize and appreciate this general trend, foregoing the 50-state strategy in favor of an attempt to shift power back up north, the repercussions, though unknown, will probably do the Democratic Party more harm than good as they have yet to prove, on a national level, that they really understand the unique regional problems we must overcome, here in the South. And though the days of the "racist Republicans" may seem to be numbered, they are not over. Ailenating the South will only serve to allow this type of destructiveness to creep back into our national fabric and threaten our Union once more. 

There is no doubt that Obama's picks are more than capable of helping us to turn our nation around in a way that will enable us to get back to the peace and prosperity we deserve and once had. But overlooking such wise counsel as former Senator Bob Graham of Florida, James Clyburn of South Carolina, and other talent from other southern and western states, might eventually prove to be an unintended slap in the face. Therefore, it is important that the Obama Administration, in the future, continues to reach out and make inroads into the South by backing up his party's requests for our votes with political representation and cultivation of new Southern Democratic leadership and talent. 

In the meantime, no matter where the political center of gravity in this country may be, at any given point, Florida is a place that's all its own. We'll be alright. So, even with no Floridians in visible roles in the upcoming Obama Administration, I'm just happy that we will have a president, once again, who will do his job. My job, as it were, is to continue to express my views and do anything I can to help make South Florida the best place in the world to live, work, study, play, relax and do business...