Posted on 01/19/2009 12:09:32 PM PST by gondramB
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will sit out Barack Obama's inauguration at an undisclosed location as the "designated successor" in the event of a catastrophe, the White House announced Monday.
While the eyes of the world are glued Tuesday to Obama's historic swearing-in, attended by outgoing US President George W. Bush and both outgoing and incoming senior aides, Gates will stay away, said spokeswoman Dana Perino.
"In order to ensure continuity of government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been designated by the outgoing administration, with the concurrence of the incoming administration, to serve as the designated successor during Inauguration Day, Tuesday, January 20th," Perino said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Voting is now obsolete.
The irony of THAT decision is HILARIOUS.
I imagine that usually they can’t. Cabinet secretaries aren’t approved by the Senate prior to inauguration day so they can’t designate a disaster replacement. Gates is an exception. Should something massive happen at the Capitol then he’d be it.
Now if we get the repeat of the opening scene of King Ralph, where everyone in attendance gets electrocuted while taking a group photo!
President Gates . . . oops!
Call Karl Rove and GWB and have them crank up the “disaster” machine. Liberals heads would explode if Gates was left in charge.
The Haig Option is in effect!
I agree with your first two comments. As to the third, appointing a "disaster successor" is rarely done particularly when administrations change for one very practical reason...the incoming POTUS intends to appoint his own cabinet. In this particular case, Obama asked Gates to stay on for at least a couple of years so Gates is the only member of Obama's cabinet who is in place and confirmed.
While I hope we don't need a disaster successor, I must point out that a terrorist attack would have to wipe out Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Byrd (Gee, Biden is Byrd Brain and Byrd is just Bobby Big Byrd Grand Kleegle or whatever of the United States of AmeriKKKa as Jeremiah Wright would note.) for Gates to succeed to the presidency.
>>I imagine that usually they can’t. Cabinet secretaries aren’t approved by the Senate prior to inauguration day so they can’t designate a disaster replacement. Gates is an exception. Should something massive happen at the Capitol then he’d be it.<<
That makes sense.
Haig was spot on with what he did that day
I’m sitting it out too, but I’m pretty far down the line of succession.
I agree.
Token in every sense of the word, Bill. Better get used to it.
Bob, Robert that is.
He’s probably at Site R or Mt Weather.
Damned straight. He was a bit nervous on camera for my taste, but he absolutely did the right thing. SOMEONE had to make it clear to the Russkies that the command structure of our government wasn't paralyzed, and that they shouldn't have the illusion that we wouldn't respond quickly and forcefully if attacked.
Being in DC at the time (at school), I was particularly glad that this was made clear to the gangsters in charge at the Kremlin at the time. Besides, he made it abundantly clear that as soon as Bush's chopper landed, he'd hand over whatever authority he had.
Was it 110% Constitutitonal? Probably not; but as one of our Supreme Court Justices once said, "the Constitution is not a suicide pact." With a nuclear Pearl Harbor 30 minutes away, observing all of the niceties isn't always an option. Better to have a somewhat nervous former commander of NATO in charge, just so that the bear minded his Ps and Qs. In this case, the entire military is by now accustomed to taking orders from him - so various bears, dragons and 7th century monkees will be careful.
Imagine the pressure of knowing that if things go to hell in a handbasket, you´re up!
Maybe he'll be hanging out with Machine Gun Cheney. He'll be safe as long as he's behind him. :>)
No flames, please - I like Cheney a lot, and really think that HE should have been CINC for the last 8 years.
Obama places his hand on the bible and Chief Justice says: ... Before we can proceed I require TWO Photo IDs, a Certified Birth Certificate and Proof of Insurance!
That would be the disaster (for Obama) I'd like to hear about!
I could see the PTB exploding a nuke in the middle of the Inauguration with a Police State/gun round up soon to follow. (and the People would demand it)
Everytime I think of Obama taking the Oath I picture that scene from the movie Airplane where the the black dude smacks the the bible and says Aint no thing $hit
LOL. Still, probably more qualified than zero.
“He was a bit nervous on camera for my taste, but he absolutely did the right thing.”
Haig was Chief of Staff at that time. He was a military man, by experience, not a US Conbstitution career scholar.
I agree he did nothing really out of line, based on the situation, and what I mentioned above.
I’m fine with just going with Gates. I like him. Forgetabout Obama.
Sounds like Gates is preparing for a plot out of Clancy’s “Executive Orders”
This ceremony does present terrorists with THE target of opportunity - I pray the Secret Service, cops and military are all their toes.
Thousands could be hurt.
Haig was Secretary of State at the time. He was Nixon’s Chief of Staff.
When Reagan was shot, he was the highest-ranking person in the Executive Branch in DC (Bush was hustled onto AF 2, and was enroute when Haig made that speech).
Agreed. However much we don’t like Obama and those around him, he’s the POTUS starting in about 20 1/2 hours, and I will never wish for him or those around him (let alone lots of folks in a crowd) to be hurt or worse.
I’ll fight those of his policies I think wrong (which will be about 98% of the time), but he will be the POTUS. We, unlike the libs with BDS, should act like mature and moral grown-ups. Don’t worry, there will be time to fight him and his.
AS for as the almost POTUS, I'll wait and see what he DOES, ‘cause up to now, he ain't done much (apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan)
AS for as the almost POTUS, I'll wait and see what he DOES, ‘cause up to now, he ain't done much (apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan)
Terrorists? Try the ultimate strike for hostile nations as well. Hope the Navy is keeping track of China and Russia's SSBN fleets and nothing is nearby.
“Haig was Secretary of State at the time. He was Nixon’s Chief of Staff.”
I stand humbly corrected.
nobama taking over the whitehouse is a disaster.
“Liberals heads would explode if Gates was left in charge.”
Depending on the disaster, should one strike, ALL the liberals will be there with exploding heads - joining the likes of those they most admire (Vladimir, Josef, Adolf, Benito etc)
Tom Clancy wrote a book about the whole government being wiped out in a terrorist attack. Exective Orders, I believe it was called.
Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said Defense Secretary Robert Gates had been designated to stay away from Tuesday's inaugural festivities "in order to ensure continuity of government." By custom, one government official stays away when others in the line of presidential succession attend public events. Gates has been tapped to remain in his post by Obama.
The same Dana Perino...
White House press briefing of November 18, 2008:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/11/20081118-6.html
[...]
Q Okay. Does the White House believe there is no question at all about the birthplace, and thus the required U.S. citizenship of the President-elect?
MS. PERINO: I think we're in good shape on that. (Laughter.)
Q You are in good shape?
[...]
A friend of mine who served under Haig in Vietnam has nothing but good things to say about him.
Yes. Just by coincidence, I'm reading it now. Jack Ryan becomes President. Conservatives would like it.
When Lyndon Johnson killed JFK, that was his plan too, except he did it on Air Force I.
“LOL, I thought Bill Gates was sitting out the inauguration. “
LOL I thought Bill Gates PAID for the innauguration.
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