On Friday, President Obama chose Tom Donilon to replace outgoing National Security Adviser General James Jones. The major media affiliates commented on this choice and how there were some potential friction between Tom Donilon and the miltiary.
Most of the friction came from revelations in Bob Woodward's book, "Obama's War's", which highlight tension between the military and Tom Donilon, especially related to the fact that Mr. Donilon had never visited Iraq, Afghanistan, or had met any foreign leaders he routinely comments about.
The biggest area of concern, which was only mentioned in passing, was the fact that Mr. Donilon worked for the mortgage giant Fannie Mae from 2000 to 2005. In a government report, Mr. Donilon was accused of leading a campaign against investigations into accounting irregularities at Fannie Mae, which would later receive billions in financial bailout money from the federal government.
Is this the best person the president could have appointed for this sensitive position at a time when the U.S. has multiple challenges abroad? The president promised in his campaign that no lobbyist would be in his administration. So far, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was a lobbyist at Raytheon, now Tom Donilon, who was a lobbyist for Fannie Mae. I guess what is said on the campaign trail falls victim to partisan politics and governance.
It's no wonder the public is very cynical of politics, and perhaps why the presidents poll numbers are so low after saying one thing, and then doing something completely different.
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