Is Obama Appointing Liberals to Take Bad-Cop Conservative Stances?

I'm intrigued at President-elect Obama's pattern of nominating well-known liberals to high-profile cabinet positions that specifically utilize their most ideologically centrist-to-conservative stances.

Hillary Clinton at State
Take Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton. She's an unabashed liberal with a long, deep record on domestic issues, including health care reform, public education, child welfare, and measures to aid middle-class Americans.

And yet Obama selected her for the plum office of Secretary of State. Clinton has always been more hawkish than the run-of-the-mill liberal on the Iraq War, Iran, Israel and other foreign affairs. Clinton has consistently been to the right of Obama on State Department matters.

Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security
Take Director of Homeland Security nominee, Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, a popular, liberal governor with a strong record of jobs creations and economic expansion, on controlling construction-related and other pollution, and in public education reforms, who declared, "... we've worked hard to implement voluntary full-day kindergarten statewide, and to support our teachers with a historic pay raise and training."

Yet, Obama nominated Napolitano to Homeland Security, where she will put into effect her many strong-handed immigration reform measures. In fact, Director Napolitano may be required to implement and enforce the REAL I.D. card program which she actively opposed while Arizona governor.

Bill Richardson at Commerce
Take Commerce Secretary nominee Bill Richardson, an unusually gifted and proven diplomat and fomrer U.N ambassadorwho has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Richardson was President Bill Clinton's Energy Secretary for three years, and has proven an innovative leader among governors in environmental and energy policies.

Yet, Obama nominated Richardson to be Commerce Secretary, where he will play a large role in opening markets for U.S. goods via free trade agreements... a controversial measure in liberal circles.

Granted, Gov. Richardson has a remarkable record of jobs creation in New Mexico, and in luring to new business to the his state. The conservative Cato Institute has consistently rated Richardson the highest of any Democrat on its fiscal-policy report cards. Richardson's pro-business, pro-free trade beliefs are his most politically centrist, least liberal stances.

Like Clinton at State and Napolitano at Homeland Security, I have no doubt that Richardson will be a a worthy and admirable Commerce Secretary.

Hidden Depths of Political Smarts?
But I find it curiously striking... and quite odd... that Obama has requested these three capable liberal leaders to take cabinet slots that will require each of them to operate to the right politically of stated Obama stances.

And it makes me wonder:

• Is Obama the liberal he told us he was during the Democratic primary campaign?

• Will President Obama be nearly as liberal as Illinois State Senator Obama?

• Is Obama using well-known Democrats to put a liberal public-face on conservative stances?

• Or is Obama adroitly using these competent Democratic figures to take the bad-cop hard stances, to which he will play good cop, based on prevailing political winds?

No doubt we, the public, have little appreciation (yet) of the unusual depths of political smarts held by our President-elect. He made it look fairly easy for a 47-year-old African-American unknown with an exotic name to beat out the Clinton and Rove machines in the race fo the White House.

The truth is that the electoral feat accomplished by Barack Obama on November 4, 2008 was extraordinary by any measure, and required an almost supernatural helping of political talent and intelligence.

We don't know why Obama, thus far, has consistently appointed top liberals to cabinet positions that exploit their most conservative stances.

But it's utterly fascinating to finally watch Obama's brilliant political instincts necessarily emerge from the dark campaign closet... and into the first light of public governance.

But the fear sometimes grips me: did we elect a closet conservative?

Related Reading

• Hillary Clinton, Perfect Antidote for State's Ivory Tower Ills

• Profile of Gov. Bill Richardson, Commerce Secretary Nominee
• Profile of Gov. Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Director Nominee
• Profile of Sen. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Nominee

(Both photos: Scott Olson/Getty Images. #1 - Commerce Secretary nominee Bill Richardson, taken on Dec 3, 2008; #2 - Homeland Security Director nominee Janet Napolitano, taken on Dec 1, 2008)