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To the loser, the spoils

June 29, 2009 — "To the victor, the spoils."  That old phrase, most frequently associated in American politics with the Andrew Jackson administration, is being turned on its head in the Obama Administration.  People are now being appointed from the opposing party with great frequency.  The question is why.

The "Spoils System" of years past involves populating the bureaucracy of the Executive Branch with supporters.  Believe it or not, the policy was not always seen as nefarious a practice as it is today.  Defenders of the concept claimed that it would infuse the government with "new blood" during the election cycle, eliminating the uncaring "career bureaucrat."  But sometimes, it was used to cultivate a team of "yes men," more willing to back the President's policies.  Other times, it was a means of rewarding political supporters and contributors. 

The latter case raised its ugly head in 1881.  Political donor Charles Guiteau was so disappointed that his campaign cash failed to secure a position for himself in the patronage-happy Garfield Administration that he gunned down the President.  Screams for reform gave us "The Pendleton Act" of 1883, designed to move us a little closer to a meritocracy.  In fact, of the nearly 13 million Federal, State and Local government employees, only about 1,200 are appointees of the chief executive. 

We've seen some recent years where there is the occasional appointment of someone from the opposite party.  Bill Clinton did it in his second term, naming retiring GOP Senator William Cohen from Maine as his Defense Secretary.  George W. Bush kept George Tenet and Norm Mineta on the payroll, though he made the latter change jobs.

 But Obama is heading into new territory.  Not only did he keep Bush's Defense Secretary Robert Gates (a CIA director in the elder Bush's administration), but named Illinois Republican Congressman Ray LaHood as the new Transportation Secretary.  GOP's Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire was asked to be the head of the Commerce Department.  John McHugh, a Republican congressman from New York, was nominated to be the secretary of the Army.  And then came offers of ambassador positions.  Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a rising star in the GOP is now our representative to China.  Then the new president offered the ambassador of Ireland job to New York Congressman Peter King and then Pennsylvania Republican Dan Rooney.

So what's Obama's rationale?  Taking spots from Democrats who expect some Jacksonian payback is hardly a cost-free policy.  Already, liberals are hammering the President for being more pragmatic than ideological (while conservatives believe the opposite is occurring).  Is he being all that centrist?  None of those spots, with the exception of the secretary of Defense position, is a major power post.

Ex-GOP Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa (who has been nominated by Obama for the National Endowment for the Humanities job) says that the new president is being Lincolnesque, bringing everyone together.  But he's also trying to open up some spots for Democrats (like New Hampshire and New York seats) remove a future rival (Huntsman) and help his party neutralize a statewide challenger (King).  Our new president seems to have adopted the Sun Tzu policy of "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."