Opinion: Barack Obama morphs into Bill Clinton. How sad

By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Barack Obama was supposed to bring change to the White House. Instead, he’s bringing back Bill Clinton’s leftovers.

With his first appointments and rumored selections for top spots in his administration, Obama is dipping into the same talent pool that Clinton used during his two terms in the 1990s. So much for “yes, we can” change the culture at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Here are the picks and potential picks so far (even leaving out the biggest potential tie to Bill Clinton — wife Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State):

– Rahm Emanuel, former Clinton aide, as White House chief of staff.

– Eric Holder, deputy attorney general under Clinton, as attorney general.

– Jacob Lew, Clinton’s budget director, as director of the National Economic Council.

– Peter Orszag, former economic adviser to Clinton, as White House budget director.

– Rand Beers, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement under Clinton, as Homeland Security secretary or national security official.

– John Hamre, second-ranking civilian in the Defense Department under Clinton, as Defense Secretary.

– Raymond Kelly, senior Treasury Department official under Clinton, as Homeland Security secretary.

– Dan Reicher, environmental advocate in the Clinton administration, as energy secretary.