Did Barack Obama sell his soul for the presidency?

After Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election in November, he immediately and prudently set about naming members of his cabinet and his White House staff. I say "prudently," because this nation runs a lot better when there's a smooth transition between one president and the next.

However, his nominations betrayed both his promises for change and the trust the American voters had placed in him by voting for him. We watched in dismay as he repeatedly named former members of Bill Clinton's White House and Hilary Clinton's campaign organization.

Our dismay was especially sharp when news leaked out that Hilary Clinton herself was going to be nominated for Secretary of State, and our dismay turned really sour when it was revealed that the leak had originated not from Obama's organization, but from Clinton's organization. Obama barely had time to verbally acknowledge the truth of the leak before Clinton's own people began issuing more press releases about the upcoming appointment.

Clinton's qualifications for SecState? Wife of a former governor of Arkansas, wife of a former (and disgraced) president of the United States, and junior senator from New York. Zero foreign-policy experience.

The latest in the parade of Clintonist appointments was Leon Panetta as director of the CIA. Panetta has no experience in the intelligence community, and no qualifications to lead the CIA. The best thing Obama or his people could say about Panetta is that Panetta is a good administrator. His qualifications: 16 years as a congressman from California; director of the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy at a university he co-founded; director of the Office of Management and Budget; and Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff.

Let me say that last one again, with a twist. The biggest thing that qualified Leon Panetta for his CIA role was that he was chief of staff in Bill Clinton's White House. That was enough to elevate him above all of the other potential nominees with years of intelligence agency experience, with heroic service records, or with useful intelligence contacts in other countries.

Wasn't Obama the guy who campaigned against "Washington insiders" and the "Same Old Way" of doing things in Washington? And where's the "change" Obama and his supporters have been crowing about for a year and a half? I see no "change." These people have been waiting in the wings for eight years for a chance to get their old jobs back: they're "insiders," and the promised "change" is just an eight-year deferred "same old way."

When you look back at the campaign, some seemingly innnocuous events from the campaign start to make sense. Remember the long, private discussions that Obama had with Hilary Clinton, just before the convention -- and, if I recall correctly, between the convention and the election? Remember the vicious remarks Bill Clinton was making about Obama, right up until the moment Obama won the nomination at the convention, and the conciliatory and supportive
remarks Bill made after the nomination? Clinton always was good at changing his tune in a hurry, depending on the needs of the moment.

I think that Bill and Hilary promised to give up the fight, and to throw their support behind Obama, in exchange for something. And that "something" was power - power in the executive branch, and power in the White House itself. I think that the Clintons have always been ruthless and power-hungry, and that Democratic voters were afraid of their naked lust for power, which is why they voted overwhelmingly for Obama in the primaries.

I think that the Clintons threatened to fight his nomination, unless Obama promised them power - LOTS of power - in his new administration. When he agreed to their terms, they channeled their power into getting him elected. And now that he's elected, the Clintons have more power in the White House than Obama does.

Summary:
1. Obama sold his soul to the Clintons in order to gain the presidency, just as surely as Dr. Faust sold his soul to Mephistopheles for what he wanted most. And, like Mephistopheles and Faust, the Clintons are going to make sure he pays.
2. Democratic voters thought they were keeping the Clintons out of the White House, and boy, were they fooled.
3. If you don't agree with me, just wait four years. Elected or not, the Clintons will be running the country. You'll see.