If I were John McCain i'd just retire and go kick back and party in AZ. He deserves it.

I'm uncomfortable with the bland, normalized way in which HH and DD talked about people wanting to be in the Bush Administration "during wartime" and "during a critical time", and which also might influence people getting jobs in the Obama administration without any particular shakeup. Would this be the war with Eastasia? The one that enables the memory-hole back at home, and the cameras? If people are getting sucked up by the GWOT system because they get perks out of it personally, I think we should be critiquing that. Otherwise the "critical time" is going to last for generations, including the spying and the scapegoating.

You can get a job in the Obama administration by going to the website of the Transition Office at http://change.gov/page/s/ofthepeople. While you're there, fill out your contact information and write "torture" in the box "another issue." In the "Your ideas" box, write something like " I am deeply troubled by our nation's use of torture. Please act to end U.S.-sponsored torture by issuing an executive order based on the Declaration of Principles endorsed by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. Then click "submit form." Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order
On Prisoner Treatment, Torture and Cruelty Though we come from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life, we agree that the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against prisoners is immoral, unwise, and un-American. In our effort to secure ourselves, we have resorted to tactics which do not work, which endanger US personnel abroad, which discourage political, military, and intelligence cooperation from our allies, and which ultimately do not enhance our security. Our President must lead us by our core principles. We must be better than our enemies, and our treatment of prisoners captured in the battle against terrorism must reflect our character

Wonderment- Great idea! I did it and will encourage others to do the same.

Quoting Kevin: I'm uncomfortable with the bland, normalized way in which HH and DD talked about people wanting to be in the Bush Administration "during wartime" ...

I didn't hear it that way. I heard Heather saying, in response to Dan saying that people get burned out and tend to leave these jobs fairly quickly, that people felt compelled to stay on, because of the situation. One can of course make a good case that many in the Bush Administration were not so much serving their country as serving their dear leader, with all the disastrous effects that implies.

Quoting claymisher: This one should be great.

And it was. I found the discussion of the inner machinations fascinating, both in the areas of job seeking and dealing with the financial crisis.

Agreed. Heather/Dan is one of my favorite combinations. Lotsa wonky insider politics, but they also have alot of fun too. I would have liked to have heard Dan explain the thought-process/reasons that swayed him to vote for Obama. I hope Heather's resume is being read by some very important people as we speak (so long as she can still do Bloggingheads.)

Quoting uncle ebeneezer: I would have liked to have heard Dan explain the thought-process/reasons that swayed him to vote for Obama.

You can read what he said in October. Not a rousing endorsement, to put it mildly.

Quoting bjkeefe: I didn't hear it that way. I heard Heather saying, in response to Dan saying that people get burned out and tend to leave these jobs fairly quickly, that people felt compelled to stay on, because of the situation.

Hi bjkeefe. Nice to see you - I think you've remarked on my remark on other DVs. I know, well, my complaint is in the context that I respect these two DVers a lot and they're good and smart people. Heather's repeated story about Warren Christopher saying, "I don't even want to see the line" of any ethical grey areas, is well taken. If either Heather or Dan were to become Obama's new Bill Of Rights Czar, I would be elated. That said, it felt to me like a sin of omission to make passing reference to that "situation" without an aside, without more of say, Glenn Loury's critique of the situation, or Bruce Fein's. If it had been me diavlogging with Heather H., I would have said, "yes, people stayed on longer because it's wartime. Of course, as wars go, this one has some odd properties, and it's far from unanimous whether the global war on terror ought to continue as a backdrop for the next eight years. Glenn

Quoting Kevin: [...]

Point taken.

Kevin -
Thanks for giving me the chance to say that my personal moral calculus agrees with yours. But I think it's worth noting that good decent people 1) make different choices and 2) get emmeshed in situations and then have great difficulty un-meshing/de-meshing themselves.

Quoting HeatherH: Kevin -
Thanks for giving me the chance to say that my personal moral calculus agrees with yours. But I think it's worth noting that good decent people 1) make different choices and 2) get emmeshed in situations and then have great difficulty un-meshing/de-meshing themselves.

Hi Heather. I appreciate your message, and will be bearing in mind what you've said. It's difficult to stay patient now that things can finally change a bit. I probably ought to take a deep breath and let the incoming good people weigh their ideas and do their best.