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Wednesday's Transition News
The Stump —
Obama responds
(vaguely) to Sen. Baucus's health care proposal.
Politico's
Jonathan Martin discusses
diversity in Obama's Cabinet.
Why was the issues
page pulled from the transition website?
Awkward weekend to come? Obama won't
meet with foreign leaders.
WaPo reports
that CIA, national intell directors are unlikely to stay on.
Time outlines
the difficulties of closing Guantanamo,
which could be a top
priority for the president-elect.
Coalition offers
69 ways the Obama administration could increase transparency.
Could Vilsack be secretary of ...
The Corn Machine: Vilsack for Agriculture Secretary?
The Moderate Voice —
CQ says former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has emerged as the frontrunner for Agriculture secretary in the Obama administration. Ezra Klein speaks to dashed hopes:
Anyone who cares about food policy, or who was excited by Barack Obama’s offhand reference to Michael Pollan’s food policy manifesto [that’s me], should be extremely skeptical of this pick. [I am!] Iowa, of course, is a corn state. For the last 14 years, they’ve been the leading corn producer in the nation. In 2006, they grew almost 2.1 billion bushels. But they don’t just grow corn. They also demand subsidies. And they get them. Tens of billions of dollars of ...
Big Corn And Big Government
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan —
Ezra Klein is disapointed that Tom Vilsack, former governor of Iowa, is being floated as a possible Secretary of Agriculture. John Schwenkler is curt: ...if you expected anything else, then I've got a few gallons of E-85 to sell you. As has been the case in any number of other instances, the kind of "I read Michael Pollan!" talk that gets folks like Ezra and Alice Waters all excited was just that - talk - and all those who fell for it should be taking a lot more cynicism with their morning coffee. ...
Vilsack gets the nod
Political Animal —
... into law quickly, perhaps on his first day in office. "The big issue for him and any incoming secretary is going to be biofuels, that's the sector that right now is in such a volatile position," said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit group that is a leading critic of federal farm subsidies. American farmers, Mr. Cook said, are "hitched to both the food system and the energy system, both of which are oscillating." About a month ago, Ezra Klein made a compelling case that Vilsack is problematic, given his ceaseless support for corn subsidies, ...
Examining the New Secretary of Agriculture, Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack
MoJo Blog Posts: mojo —
... It is easy to groan at the selection of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack as Barack Obama's Secretary of Agriculture. Ezra Klein over at the Prospect notes that the pick signals two important things that are sure to disappoint food policy reformers. (1) Politicians from agricultural states are enmeshed in the politics of farm subsidies, and Iowa, as the number one corn-producing state in the country, can likely count on a continued flow of poisonous corn subsidies under Vilsack. (2) USDA will continue to be a department for food producers instead of one ...
