The "We" in "Team"

It’s that time of year, and the right year. We’re hearing a lot about teams. First, there was the Super Bowl. Later, it will be the Olympic team. The impeachment trial had prosecution and defense teams. Why can’t candidates for office do it?

Take the Democratic presidential candidates. As individuals, they are far from perfect. Warren and Sanders are too radical; Klobuchar is too forceful; Bloomberg and Steyer are too rich; Buttigieg is too…uh…white; Yang is too geeky; and Biden is too Joe.

I am oversimplifying for a little fun here, but each of these folks also has great qualities. Too bad we just can’t take a little DNA from all of them and create the perfect specimen. Somebody who thinks and speaks as clearly as Buttigieg, is as experienced as Biden; as committed to big ideas as Sanders, Warren, or Steyer; as forward-thinking as Yang, or who knows how to craft legislation as well as Klobuchar.

At some point, it will be clear who the Democratic presidential nominee will be. Thanks to Super Tuesday, it could be sooner rather than later. That individual will be selecting a running mate. Can he or she go beyond that and start lining up Cabinet prospects and going public on the shape of the potential new administration?

I thought there was a law against that. There isn’t, and there is so much talent in the Democratic field. Elizabeth Warren would make a perfect Secretary of the Treasury if she isn’t a presidential or vice-presidential candidate, assuming she would accept a Cabinet post. Andrew Yang could be Secretary of Commerce and Tom Steyer would be a natural at Energy. Joe Biden is a known quantity around the world and would be a great Secretary of State. Even those who have dropped out of the presidential race could be factors. Kamala Harris would be impressive as Attorney General. How about Bernie at HHS? Julian Castro has previous Cabinet experience. Every time I’ve seen Cory Booker, I think there has to be a role for him. All of these folks have, or did have, followings, and if the whole group ran as a kind of team, couldn’t this pull the party, and perhaps the electorate, together?

I am not really a sports fan, but have learned from watching football that while a great quarterback is the star, he needs receivers. Then there is the defense and the kicker.

For the Democrats to win the Presidential race this year, the keyword is  “overwhelming.” They need to massively get out the vote to overwhelm the limitations of the Electoral College and any artificial barriers to voting created at the state or local levels. If the current occupant of the White House is to be defeated, it will take a lot more than just that one person scoring points on an October debate stage to do it.

Did Obama Pull a Sarah?

President-elect Obama’s decision to have Pastor Rick Warren deliver the invocation at his inauguration has ignited the expected firestorm. Pastor Warren opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage, and how could a liberal Democrat like Obama make such a choice?

Similar criticism was aimed at Republican John McCain when Sarah Palin was named as his running mate. as many of her views were far to the right of his. If the goal was to appeal to the GOP’s conservative base while hanging on to McCain’s own constituency, it didn’t work.

While the choice of Palin may have seemed like a Hail Mary pass, Obama was on solid pastoral ground when choosing Warren, who is considered one of the most influential of his ilk in America today. He has been invited to speak at the U.N. as well as other prestigious venues. As the Billy Grahams and Robert Schullers fade into history, it will be clergy members like Rick Warren taking their place.

But what was Obama trying to say with this choice? It’s OK to try to turn your administration into some kind of big tent. But others who have tried forced inclusiveness have found that it’s a bad strategy, and I agree with those who believe Obama made a mistake with this selection.

Then there’s the question of consequences. Pastor Warren will go down in history as the invocation giver, but then his job is done. It’s not as if Obama named him a cabinet secretary. I think it did damage to Obama’s image, but certainly not irreparable damage.

While it seems Obama’s trademark ears were made of tin in this case, there are a lot more important issues to worry about now, which may be his saving grace from a PR standpoint. But you just can’t put all kinds of kids in the sandbox and expect them to play together nicely.

There, now I’ve said it.