Kudos to the Gabfest team for illustrating that the spread of democracy isn't as simple as "Have an election and tada.. peace on Earth!"

The Iraq war, and the Palestinian situation both illustrate that Democracy has a few introductionary steps that need to be achieved first. Security, justice and stability being among them.

For an "informal and irreverant look at politics" you guys are quite profound.

Shhhhhh...

Don't tell.

I think Emily was right on with her observation that the present problems between Hamas and Fatah can be laid at the feet of the Bush Administration. The "hands off" policy undermined Fatah's ability to govern and opened the door for Hamas in the Palestinian elections. The neocons live in a dilusional world where everyone wants to be middle-class Americans. Thus, they are unable to deal with anyone with a different worldview. Can we get through the next 584 days without another catastrophe?

There are 10,000 appointments that the Obama administration gets to select. About 3,000 specific leadership positions and 7,000 so called “Schedule C” employees. These do not need Senate confirmation nor do they have to be qualified in any way. They are appointed at the complete discretion of the administration. After the top level appointments, the vast majority – the Schedule Cs—are typically the relatives of large contributors or party/campaign loyalists who want a job in the new administration. Because Obama was able to raise so much money from ordinary citizens, he is not as beholden to large contributors than other Presidents have been. So he will likely appoint from a wider and more diverse proportion of the American population than his predecessors. But getting appointed is not without risk. Many appointees make get into serious trouble legally, ethically, administratively or politically. So the important thing is not only for good people to get appointed, but have a successful experience.

I have just finished a book that describes the processes of appointment and the kinds of trouble that appointees should avoid and we citizens should watch out for. It is The Obama Political Appointee Primer: How to Do Something Worthwhile, Avoid Failure and Scandal, and Keep Your Self Respect at the Same Time by Lewis D. Eigen. If you are interested in these issues, there is a free excerpt on the web that you can read: <link>