re: "Obama's Second Tier Appointments"

Joe Klein at Swampland comments on sub-cabinet appointments at State.

Money quote(s):

"I wonder about the special envoy set-up. This adds another level of bureaucracy--the last thing State needs!--bypassing regional Assistant Secretaries. There are very good arguments for this targeted problem-solving approach (Holbrooke shouldn't have to worry about Sri Lanka, which would be in his portfolio as Asst. Secretary for South Asia--Af/Pak is going to be a bear all by itself), but never underestimate the ability of bureaucrats to gum up the work with turf battles."