Column by Jacob Sims

Throughout the campaign trail the last two years, we have been told quite a bit about change. President-elect Barack Obama made his entire election about change. Obama explained to voters how he is going to change the entire political landscape and bring in fresh faces to combat the status quo and corruption in Washington D.C. He explained to voters how he wants to change the traditional “politics-as-usual” establishment and usher in a new dawn of politics, except for one thing: He has yet to explain anything about this change and what it will look like.

I really do want to give Obama a fair chance and offer the new administration support and cooperation of conservatives. The conditions, however, were him following through on his campaign promises. While it is early in the game, it does not seem to be happening, so it’s due time for a little partisanship.

For those who have just now gotten involved in politics, the following names of people Obama has appointed probably don’t mean much to you: John Podesta, Rahm Emanuel and Eric Holder. Let me elaborate.

Podesta is heading the transition effort for Obama, which would include, in part, using his judgment to select new members of Obama’s staff and administration. Podesta, while respected outside of politics for his accomplishments in the academic field, served as both an assistant to the president and as deputy chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, where he was extensively involved in the infamous “Pardongate.”

Clinton, with the assistance of Podesta, issued 140 pardons, including 16 to members of the violent Puerto Rican group that set off 120 bombs throughout New York City and Chicago, killing a half-dozen and wounding dozens more. It also included the pardoning of Edgar and Vonna Jo Gregory, guilty of bank fraud, in which Hillary Clinton’s brother had ties with and lobbied to President Clinton to issue the pardon.

Peter MacDonald (fraud, extortion, inciting riots, bribery and corruption), Almon Braswell (defrauded senior citizens of millions of dollars), Weather Underground members Linda Sue Evans and Susan Rosenberg (weapons and explosives charges), two former fellow Democratic congressmen, and President Clinton’s half-brother were all pardoned in the process, which Podesta oversaw.

Emanuel is the chief of staff in the president-elect’s administration but was one of Bill Clinton’s top advisers. “Rahmbo” Emanuel, while pro-Israel (a concern in the election) and very qualified, is a ruthless partisan who has continued to sicken our political structure. Examples are of him sending a dead goldfish to a co-worker that he had a dispute with. There was also a rumor of him taking a steak knife and naming all of his political enemies, followed by him shouting the word “dead” and stabbing the table with the knife at a dinner after the 1996 elections.

Obama has recently announced that he would like Eric Holder, a former deputy attorney general of the Clinton administration, to be his attorney general. Holder, while also qualified, shows tendencies to legislate from the bench and was involved with the pardon of Marc Rich (tax evasion, illegal trading with Iran and FBI Most Wanted List for years). Holder is awaiting approval before being announced as attorney general.

Janet Napolitano, a former Clinton U.S. attorney, is being courted as Obama’s secretary of homeland security. On top of all of that, he is looking to appoint Sen. Hilary Clinton as his secretary of state (the list of scandals is too long for the parenthesis).

A few months ago, Obama wanted to change the world. He wanted to completely revamp the political system and do away with all of the political insiders and corruption; however, it seems now that he is elected, he is bringing back more and more of the former Clinton officials in his administration and some of the same old tricks that were used back in the 1990s. Where I come from, we don’t call that change; we call it more of the same.