Obama's Advisers; Cass Sunstein and Samantha Power

It occurred to me that I couldn't get through to the real Obama during his campaign. If I wanted to know who he is, I'd have to learn more about who has his ear. At some point, it is he, the real Obama, who decides, "I like the way this person thinks." One of the reasons I was warm to the idea of a Giuliani presidency, in spite of his obvious personal flaws, was that I was familiar with his advisers. I believe, unless America grows out of its media induced stupor, Obama will be the next president, so I'm going to take a look at those to whom he listens.

A noontime speech by two of Obama's policy advisers, University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein and Harvard University government professor Samantha Power, was delayed an hour as the two explored Virginia's rural back roads.

This is Sunstein: (domestic policy advisor)

Supreme Court appointments: Sunstein described Obama as a "visionary minimalist," who would bring balance to activist conservative justices' efforts to "constitutionalize the Republican platform," but would not repudiate opposing views.

And this is Power: (foriegn policy advisor)

Iraq: Obama is "thinking about getting American troops out safely, but having full regard for those who have come to depend on us," Power said. She said Obama has a detailed withdrawal plan for Iraq that would include giving Iraqis fair notice of American departure and soliciting Iraqi opinions as to which neighborhoods should be evacuated first.

Middle East diplomacy: Obama "has said when he becomes president that he will go on a listening tour of Islamic countries," Power said. When dealing with "rogue regimes" such as Iran's, it's "better to be in the room than lobbing verbal grenades" from afar, she added.

China: In addressing Chinese human rights violations, exploitation of African economies and threats to American business interests abroad, Obama "is not going to be uncritical," said Powers. However, "We have to get our own house in order" first. Once Obama has restored international support for the United States, "The same backlash seen against colonialism is going to be seen against China."

Another S Power Time mag article.
There are scads of stuff on these two and the many other Obama advisers out there. I picked some articles that were in their own words, rather than written about them. From these self-revealing articles however, some of the articles that HAVE been written about them are more easily judged for apparent accuracy.