Economist.com, “The O team”

December 1, 2008

Barack Obama introduces his national-security team
“Mr Obama has made the point that he is no lefty peacenik. With a rival who supported the war, a lifelong warrior and a Republican secretary of defence in his top three foreign-policy jobs, the new young president wants the world (and critics at home) to see that he is no pushover. Will that mean that nothing much will change, disappointing many of his fans? Or will his tough advisers serve as useful cover for a new policy of talking to foes and substituting soft power for military force? For the president who campaigned saying ‘I’m not against all wars, I’m against dumb wars,’ combining hard and soft may be no paradox…”

Media hits

I participated in a rather grandly titled panel discussion, “Transition 2008: Advising the Next President”, part of an ongoing series that The Economist participates in alongside NYU and the Council on Foreign Relations. I also talked about Barack Obama’s newly named national-security team on the Brian Lehrer Show this morning on WNYC.