Some members of the CBC are ok with “diversity”

… as long as that diversity means appointing more black people to cabinet/admin positions than any other. Via The Hill:

Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are disappointed President-elect Obama did not appoint more African-Americans to his Cabinet.

Obama tapped four blacks for Cabinet posts, including Eric Holder. If confirmed, Holder will be the first African-American attorney general.

But Obama passed over black candidates in selecting Cabinet nominees for positions central to setting policy for urban America, such as the departments of Education, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development.

Hispanic Americans, by contrast, have been nominated for three Cabinet positions, and politicians from that constituency have hailed Obama’s nominations.

“Did the African-American community probably expect more appointees at that level? Probably so” said Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), an early Obama supporter who has expressed an interest in filling Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Davis said he was pleased with Obama’s Cabinet, but confirmed that there is some angst within the CBC.

“On balance, I’d say a great deal of thought went into the shaping of this Cabinet” Davis told The Hill. “And he ended up with a real rainbow. But some people, sure, thought there should be a bit more color in it.”

Another senior member of the CBC who requested anonymity said more pointedly that Obama “isn’t doing enough for the black folks.”

Alternative title for this post? “Diversity for me but not for thee.”

In related news, Obama’s problems with the far left will only increase with this report from Bill Gertz that notes that PEBO’s decided to keep most of Bush’s political appointees at the Pentagon (via MM), at least in the short term:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has asked most Bush administration political appointees except those targeted for dismissal to stay on in the Pentagon until replaced by the Obama administration in the coming months.

“I have received authorization from the president-elect’s transition team to extend a number of Department of Defense political appointees an invitation to voluntarily remain in their current positions until replaced,” Mr. Gates said in an Dec. 19 e-mail to political appointees.

The chance to stay is “available to all willing political appointees with the exception of those who are contacted individually and told otherwise,” he stated.

[…]

The decision to keep the appointees is part of an effort by Mr. Gates to avoid a “leadership vacuum” at a time when the United States in engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, [Pentagon press secretary Geoff] Morrell said.

[…]

In the past, a change of administration normally involved mass resignations of political appointees between November and January, leaving subordinates in key policy positions as “acting” officials.

Well, nearly two months after he was elected as our 44th president, he’s managing to tick off just about everyone, which some will suggest indicates that he is not “ideologically driven.” As I’ve said before, give it time. It’s still too early to tell.

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