i've probably brought this up before, but why exactly does conventional wisdom say it is a smart move for a democratic president to appoint a republican to his cabinet, but no one ever expects a republican president to appoint a democrat?
not that i'm absolutely against using someone from he opposite party. it's just strange that the buzzy excitement about cross-party appointments always dissipates when republicans hold the white house.
UPDATE: david wilford cites norman mineta in the comments. i stand corrected. i guess W, at least, did appoint a democrat to his cabinet. i have no memory of any expectation that he should appoint a dem tho. on the other hand, before david mentioned it, i had no memory of norman mineta either.
not that i'm absolutely against using someone from he opposite party. it's just strange that the buzzy excitement about cross-party appointments always dissipates when republicans hold the white house.
UPDATE: david wilford cites norman mineta in the comments. i stand corrected. i guess W, at least, did appoint a democrat to his cabinet. i have no memory of any expectation that he should appoint a dem tho. on the other hand, before david mentioned it, i had no memory of norman mineta either.
