Obama's vetting process is a good thing

Written by

Warning: this content is older than 365 days. It may be out of date and no longer relevant.

I saw this story on CNN about the vetting process for the Obama administration being too cautious and too meticulous:

…some political observers say the president-elect’s similar caution with respect to recruiting new administration officials and key high-level advisers may be turning away a string of qualified candidates wary of subjecting themselves and their families to the most rigid presidential vetting process on record… political analysts say the Obama team’s unprecedented degree of scrutiny could result in several qualified individuals deciding to forgo consideration for a top post. This could especially be true among individuals considered for economic roles in the administration from the private sector who might be more financially entangled than those who have been longtime public servants.

CNN, get your head out of your ass. Look, it’s simple: if someone doesn’t want to be subject to intense scrutiny because their background may have questionable dealings, then they’re not a qualified individual.

We don’t and never should require invasion of privacy as a condition of citizenship. We should require intense scrutiny of those people who want to serve in the highest offices of the country, and require full disclosure of conflicts of interest, ethics problems, and other problems.

Remember, we’re not talking about the Obama administration knocking on Joe the plumber’s door and saying, “hey, want to be Secretary of State? All you have to do is give up your privacy”. We’re talking about people who are close to the halls of power already being very carefully investigated, and for those individuals, they already know it’s part of the game, the price you pay for access to power. If they’ve had questionable dealings, then I’m glad they’re opting out of the nomination process early.

Careful, thorough vetting of appointees can only be a good thing. I applaud the Obama administration for trying to prevent conflicts of interest and known problems in individuals who want access to more power.

Did you enjoy this blog post? If so, please subscribe right now!

Get this and other great articles from the source at www.ChristopherSPenn.com

10 most recent blog posts of mine:

Comments

15 responses to “Obama's vetting process is a good thing”

November 23, 2008

syzito

Obama's vetting process is necessary in order to try and avoid Bill Clintons mistake with all of the thugs he tried to promote. However Obama's questions about gun ownship is not necessary and shows his true colors concerning the second amendment and citizens “rights” with self defense and protection.

Reply
November 23, 2008

Joe

The second amendment is badly misinterpreted anyway – if Obama wants to interpret it in a way that reduces the number of guns out there, then I'm ll for it.

Reply
November 23, 2008

william

More questions do not necessarily indicative of a better vetting process or yield better candidates for a role/job. In fact, I've seen where more requirements and questions indicates that a hiring manager isn't clear on what they are looking for – and that does turn off good candidates. Better questions and tighter relevancy to the role ARE helpful. This is what the new administration should be focusing on, but probably won't.

Reply
November 23, 2008

syzito

Obama's vetting process is necessary in order to try and avoid Bill Clintons mistake with all of the thugs he tried to promote. However Obama's questions about gun ownship is not necessary and shows his true colors concerning the second amendment and citizens “rights” with self defense and protection.

Reply
November 23, 2008

Tom

The truly ironic thing is that Obama with his past drug use and foreign family connections not only wouldn't pass his own screening process, but he wouldn't likely be eligible for a secret much less a top secret security clearance

Reply
November 23, 2008

Joe

The second amendment is badly misinterpreted anyway – if Obama wants to interpret it in a way that reduces the number of guns out there, then I'm ll for it.

Reply
November 23, 2008

william

More questions do not necessarily indicative of a better vetting process or yield better candidates for a role/job. In fact, I've seen where more requirements and questions indicates that a hiring manager isn't clear on what they are looking for – and that does turn off good candidates. Better questions and tighter relevancy to the role ARE helpful. This is what the new administration should be focusing on, but probably won't.

Reply
November 23, 2008

Tom

The truly ironic thing is that Obama with his past drug use and foreign family connections not only wouldn't pass his own screening process, but he wouldn't likely be eligible for a secret much less a top secret security clearance

Reply
November 24, 2008

Sam I Am

There is a very good reason why Obama is so carefully vetting potential members of his administration: the not-so-loyal opposition. Right now, even as I type, GOP operatives are scouring records trying to find something, anything about members of the new administration that they can use to discredit President-elect Obama. Obama understands that he lives in the world of dirty politics and yellow journalism. If one of his opponents or a not-so-scrupulous reporter finds a picture of one of his advisers screwing a goat, while smoking a joint when he was 18, it'll be all we hear about for months – while important issues get passed over. Obama has not said that he won't hire someone who doesn't have a spotless background, but he must know how the GOP will come at him and prepare for it. It's called opposition prep and it isn't limited to getting ready for a debate anymore. The GOP will do everything in its power to make the Obama presidency a failure. They do not have control of Congress anymore, so they'll have to resort to more Rovian tactics. Fortunately, Obama has already proved himself to be smarter than they are.

Reply
November 24, 2008

Mike H

You are absolutely correct. CNN seems to believe that Obama's vetting process maybe chasing away potential candidates. It is better to eliminate those people now rather than have them go down in flames in front of the media later. America has too many challenges to get caught up in petty b.s. like some guy/girl politician had an affair. Penny Pritzker is the latest candidate to bow out because of the rigorous vetting process. Let me tell you, in Penny's case, this is good new. Penny maybe a wonderful, honest business woman but it has been rumored that her family has had ties to organized crime going back generations. It may or may not be true but in the midst of trying to end the war in Iraq and turning around the worst economy since the Great Depression, Obama wouldn't want to have defend any accusations & potentially lose a key member of his economic team.

Reply
November 24, 2008

Sam I Am

There is a very good reason why Obama is so carefully vetting potential members of his administration: the not-so-loyal opposition. Right now, even as I type, GOP operatives are scouring records trying to find something, anything about members of the new administration that they can use to discredit President-elect Obama. Obama understands that he lives in the world of dirty politics and yellow journalism. If one of his opponents or a not-so-scrupulous reporter finds a picture of one of his advisers screwing a goat, while smoking a joint when he was 18, it'll be all we hear about for months – while important issues get passed over. Obama has not said that he won't hire someone who doesn't have a spotless background, but he must know how the GOP will come at him and prepare for it. It's called opposition prep and it isn't limited to getting ready for a debate anymore. The GOP will do everything in its power to make the Obama presidency a failure. They do not have control of Congress anymore, so they'll have to resort to more Rovian tactics. Fortunately, Obama has already proved himself to be smarter than they are.

Reply
November 24, 2008

Sam I Am

There is a very good reason why Obama is so carefully vetting potential members of his administration: the not-so-loyal opposition. Right now, even as I type, GOP operatives are scouring records trying to find something, anything about members of the new administration that they can use to discredit President-elect Obama. Obama understands that he lives in the world of dirty politics and yellow journalism. If one of his opponents or a not-so-scrupulous reporter finds a picture of one of his advisers screwing a goat, while smoking a joint when he was 18, it'll be all we hear about for months – while important issues get passed over. Obama has not said that he won't hire someone who doesn't have a spotless background, but he must know how the GOP will come at him and prepare for it. It's called opposition prep and it isn't limited to getting ready for a debate anymore. The GOP will do everything in its power to make the Obama presidency a failure. They do not have control of Congress anymore, so they'll have to resort to more Rovian tactics. Fortunately, Obama has already proved himself to be smarter than they are.

Reply
November 24, 2008

Mike H

You are absolutely correct. CNN seems to believe that Obama's vetting process maybe chasing away potential candidates. It is better to eliminate those people now rather than have them go down in flames in front of the media later. America has too many challenges to get caught up in petty b.s. like some guy/girl politician had an affair. Penny Pritzker is the latest candidate to bow out because of the rigorous vetting process. Let me tell you, in Penny's case, this is good new. Penny maybe a wonderful, honest business woman but it has been rumored that her family has had ties to organized crime going back generations. It may or may not be true but in the midst of trying to end the war in Iraq and turning around the worst economy since the Great Depression, Obama wouldn't want to have defend any accusations & potentially lose a key member of his economic team.

Reply
November 24, 2008

Mike H

You are absolutely correct. CNN seems to believe that Obama’s vetting process maybe chasing away potential candidates. It is better to eliminate those people now rather than have them go down in flames in front of the media later. America has too many challenges to get caught up in petty b.s. like some guy/girl politician had an affair. Penny Pritzker is the latest candidate to bow out because of the rigorous vetting process. Let me tell you, in Penny’s case, this is good new. Penny maybe a wonderful, honest business woman but it has been rumored that her family has had ties to organized crime going back generations. It may or may not be true but in the midst of trying to end the war in Iraq and turning around the worst economy since the Great Depression, Obama wouldn’t want to have defend any accusations & potentially lose a key member of his economic team.

Reply
January 19, 2009

Robert

Barak Obama is a puppet, set-up by the Council on Foreign Relations, AIPAC and Bilderberg Elite. You are absolutely fooling yourself if you think this MAN is somehow going to save this Country of OURS!!!!! If anyone was paying attention, the Supreme Court pretty much eliminated the 4TH Amendment last week…. WAKE UP, AMERICA!!!

Reply