Quote:
Originally Posted by Mouser
Now take into account all of the promises for other positions for being supportive
like a Senator who lost a white house bid and given a Secretary of State Position
with no knowledge and left the office in shambles  |
Nothing new with that at all. The primary loser is often offered a cabinet position, an ambassadorship, a special envoy position or the like.
Naturally so. The runner-up is often a very qualified and senior person who knows the inner workings of both parties, Congress, Washington, and foreign officials.
Cabinet postions are especially important choices. The Secretaries are all responsible for the vital functions of our government at home and abroad, and every President wants Secretaries who can do the best job. If a person in the other party has more qualifications than anyone else, most Presidents choose them over party considerations alone.
That's why there is always a Democrat or two in every Republican administration and vice versa.
The choices any president has are always limited; many of the best qualified people don't want to take on a Secretary's job because they are all very demanding in many ways, and always require a lot of personal sacrifice in some way or other.
That's why so many Secretaries resign after 4 years when a President is re-elected. Many leave sooner than that, as they all live daily under a lot of pressures they can't do much about.
Being a Representative or a Senator is always easier, as there's alway a herd. If someone can't do a job to the fullest, another can take over to get it done. In a big herd, there's always a lot of assistance available as well.
A Secretary has far less assistance and a lot more personal responsibility. Some of the Departments can crush the strongest person over time with the burden; that's why we see so many Secretaries of Defense come and go so quickly, and others too, like Attorney Generals. None of the Departments is a skate job, that's for sure.
And as often as not, the job is quite thankless. The Secretary does all the work, and the President gets all the credit. That's the nature of it. But make a mistake, and boom! it all lands in the Secretary's lap then!
That's the nature of it too.
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