Why Obama Should Fill His Cabinet with (Asshole) Geniuses

"The Genius Cabinet," a recent article by Slate magazine, argues "why the president-elect should surround himself with brilliant -- albeit prickly, semi-autistic, and egomaniacal -- thinkers." (Read: assholes.)

The first man the article discusses is Lawrence Summers. The article speaks highly of Summers' capacities in the realm of the US Treasury, and his former position as the President of Harvard University speaks to his steady economic hand (let us not forget after all, that Summers is asshole number one in the "genius cabinet"). The article also acknowledges Summers' faults while at the same time glossing over them with intimations of his less than desirable history and traits.

The article links to, but does not include, Summers' controversial memo stating that "poor countries need more pollution, not less" because "life and health are worth less in poor countries than in rich ones." (full disclosure: I agree with this completely if we understand "life and health" purely in terms of monetary, not ethical, value). The author does not mention that for which Summers gained recent national attention, an unfortunate statement at a conference when he stated that "innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers. Summers also questioned how much of a role discrimination plays in the dearth of female professors in science and engineering at elite universities." Dude, seriously?

If Hillary Clinton were president (full disclosure: I supported Obama from the beginning of the primaries to November 4), she could not, politically speaking, consider Summers. He could not, in a Hillary Clinton administration, vaguely resemble a serious consideration for treasury secretary. Perhaps she would have had to have treated it as an obvious consideration to briefly entertain before immediately discarding -- a mere ceremonial acknowledgment and a passing over. For this reason, Obama can strike a compromise: seriously consider Summers, but pass him over and instead hire another brilliant economist, perhaps a student (or a puppet) of Summers whose social consciousness doesn't resemble that of a single-celled organism.

Certainly Barack needs geniuses to tackle the biggest problems of the day. While the economy is undoubtedly now a matured crisis (fine aging care of GW Bush), so is our cultural fabric. With the struggle of women still unfinished and a nationwide protesting of Proposition 8, a phenomenon that Obama contributed by bringing out a population of voters that overwhelmingly (and ironically) voted against equal rights, cultural healing was a great part of Obama's appeal during his campaign. Saving one crucial aspect of American life (the economy) at the unnecessary expense of another (women's rights and/or GLBT rights) doesn't make much sense. It would be impossible to maintain any sort of unity for his party, and he would surely be looking at a 4-years total in the white house, should he begin splitting his base before he takes oath.

Of course, I think we need geniuses too. But genius and a sense of reality are not mutually exclusive. I'd rather take a slightly "lesser" genius who also has some intellectual integrity and values that don't completely contradict the point of Barack Obama's presidency.

Speaking of Proposition 8, Mr. President-Elect, Mr. Moral Leader, may I be the first to ask, "Where the hell are you?" Now that the election is over, must you pretend your rapid response team never existed? I know you're busy, but a one-sentence statement within 24 hours has never been more needed. And your silence is deafening.