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Louis Caldera to be Director of White House Military Office

December 02, 2008 10:47 AM

Building on his list of Clinton-era officials, President-elect Barack Obama picked Louis Caldera today to lead the White House Military Office. Caldera was appointed by Bill Clinton to serve as managing director and chief operating officer for the Cooperation for National and Community Service, and then as Secretary of Army in 1998.

"Louis has served his country with distinction in uniform and in government, and his pedigree is second-to-none," Obama said in a statement. "I know he'll bring to the White House the same dedication and integrity that have earned him the highest praise in every post, from Secretary of the Army to university president," said President-elect Obama.

Caldera, a former lawyer, was the president of the University of New Mexico until 2006 and most recently a tenured professor at UNM law school.

The announcement came as Obama met with the nation's governors in Philadelphia to hear their concerns and discuss the economy.

On Monday, Obama and Biden announced their national security team, including New York Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, but they stayed quiet on some key posts, such as director of national intelligence and CIA director.

-- Matt Jaffe and Huma Khan

December 2, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (13)

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What the #$*% was he thinking? How soon some forget what happened. Who gave him the go ahead to do such a thing? He needs more than just his hand slaped for this.

Posted by: Karen | Apr 29, 2009 10:58:38 AM

fire him today!!!! he's bad news....imagine what he has ok'd that we dont know about...

Posted by: last exit | Apr 29, 2009 3:42:51 AM

fire the idiot after the photo opt disaster in New York

Posted by: concerned citizen | Apr 28, 2009 12:11:23 PM

WOW! Only 9 comments on this and look how many had warned us about Caldera. Obama - you should have known better. The glamour photo op in NYC today is on your head.

Posted by: you tried to tell us | Apr 27, 2009 11:48:55 PM

I'm also an Obama supporter, but Caldera is a bad choice. He has hardly held any position longer than two years in his entire career, because people quickly see how inept and arrogant he is. I'm glad to see that folks at UNM recognize that -- he was terrible in his position at the California State University prior to that. He is a bully with political connections. Not good. We've had enough of that.

Posted by: brenda | Dec 9, 2008 5:59:53 PM

Louis Caldera is a fine person, who was an effective state legislator and also Secretary of the Army. This is a great pick by Obama. An effective public servant who can easily traverse the military and civilian worlds.

Posted by: FOL | Dec 5, 2008 4:01:51 PM

I'll add my name to the growing list of people who are extremely disappointed with the selection of Louis Caldera for any post in the Obama administration. He was run out of UNM on a rail for very good reasons and he is rewarded with a federal position. He was a pathetic excuse for a leader at UNM and will most definitely provide a repeat performance in the white House. I hope President Obama recognizes this early on and remedies the mistake as soon as possible.

Posted by: Cathleen Rineer-Garber | Dec 4, 2008 10:20:08 PM

The really sad thing about the appointment of Louis Caldera to lead the White House Military Office is that this appointment appears to have been made on the basis of his last name and his political connections. Just a little poking around would have revealed that he was possibly the worst president that the University of New Mexico has ever seen and that IndyMac Bank (where he serves on the Board of Directors) in currently being investigated by the FBI for fraud.

Posted by: Lola N | Dec 4, 2008 10:24:26 AM

Fantastic pick. I know Louis personally and he is a hard-working American!

Posted by: Tim | Dec 3, 2008 2:12:35 PM

Louis Caldera is the best choice. I am looking forward to watching the USA get back on track. Great pick Obama!

Posted by: Chrissi G | Dec 3, 2008 1:51:56 PM

The appointment of Louis Caldera is a huge mistake. My personal experience in dealing with him is that he is arrogant, totally self absorbed, power hungry, and looks down on anyone with a different opinion than he has. Yes, his direction o the big CA bank was poor and he did absolutely nothing as secretary of the army under Clinton. I hope that Obama's people get sick of him quickly like most people do.

Posted by: ralph b. | Dec 3, 2008 12:30:14 AM

Oh cheeses. I'm a big, big Obama supporter, but I have to tell you: Louis Caldera is a complete dud. He was a screwed-up and ineffective Sec Army, but as a university president...at UNM, here in Albuquerque...he was beyond awful. He didn't do worth a damn here, and got sacked by the regents more than a year ago. He is snappy, churlish, arrogant, insecure, and doesn't mind gouging the taxpayers...it took almost a million dollars to run him out of UNM, and even then they had to make him a tenured professor at the law school to keep him from suing. His work as a member of the board of that big bank in California - that just went belly-up - is another example. I just talke to two other faculty, and they, too are in shock. Caldera is a jerk, and Obama just made a mistake.

Posted by: Inri Porter | Dec 2, 2008 5:20:40 PM

It's not a bad idea to pool from the Clinton security officials. Bill Clinton has a good track record on his handling of the '93 bombing of the WTC and his establishment of counter terrorism measures.

Posted by: kat | Dec 2, 2008 2:05:52 PM

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