President-elect Barack Obama introduced the new national security team Monday, and then took a much-needed break. Dude has been busy, yo. The order of the day? Shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture. Hey ya!
No big surprises at Monday's press conference, but Obama officially announced that former campaign rival Hillary Clinton will be the new secretary of state. Not that it matters, but bellowing gas bag Rush Limbaugh called the selection "brilliant."
But who cares what he says?Obama also announced that Bush's Pentagon chief Robert Gates will stay on as defense secretary for continuity sake--we're fighting two wars, after all. In related news, Obama is ousting top Bush Pentagon officials, including many of Gates's top deputies. More from the Washington Post, HERE.
Other picks: Marine Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security, and Susan Rice as UN Ambassador.
Meanwhile, in another part of town, outgoing President George W. Bush told ABC News' Charlie Gibson "I was unprepared for war," and "I'm sorry" for the economic crisis.
Bush expressed remorse that the financial crisis has cost jobs and harmed retirement accounts. "I'm sorry it's happening, of course," he said. "Obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s."Bush pointed to incorrect intelligence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as "the biggest regret of all the presidency."
"I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess." When pressed by Gibson, Bush was clear. "That is a do-over that I can't do."
This ABC interview raises many questions, the most salient being: "Can Barack Obama start early?"
The ABC News interview with outgoing president, George W. Bush, 12/01/08
