Holism

Marc Ambinder:

The takeaway from Barack Obama's national security team rollout this morning is holism.

Announcing, at once, an attorney general, the homeland security chief, Obama's defense chief, his chief diplomat, his chief negotiator and his chief adviser sends the message that Obama's conception of national security includes the need to defend against terror attacks at home and to devise a sensible mechanism to detain and punish those who attack us. More prosaically, Obama has chosen to render the foreign policy decision making mechanism as a table, over which people will disagree to the point of consensus. Where White House staff ran ends around Sec. Condi Rice, even failing to read her in to certain programs; when the Department of Defense refused to consult with State and vice versa, Obama seems to be saying here that big decisions will be made by (Obama, of course) but vetted throuhg a very diverse group of experienced men and women with egos, staffs and different institutional prerogatives.