5 ms·

Elon Musk actually believes Tillerson could be an “excellent” Secretary of State

8 points by davidiach 10y ago

jseliger 10y ago
So far I haven't seen a strong explanation about why he wouldn't be. There is much to hate about Trump—I in particular worry about the way he raises the risks of global nuclear war: https://jakeseliger.com/2016/11/28/trump-fears-and-the-nuclear-apocalypse https://jakeseliger.com/2016/11/28/trump-fears-and-the-nucle... —but it seems unwise to automatically oppose anyone he proposes for his Cabinet. It is also not impossible that he will appoint a good FDA commissioner: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/01/will-trump-appoint-great-fda-commissioner.html http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/01/wil.... One should reserve opprobrium for where it is deserved and not fire it off generically, especially based on innuendo. Again, that is not to approve (https://jakeseliger.com/2016/10/10/vote-for-clinton-or-johnson-for-president/ https://jakeseliger.com/2016/10/10/vote-for-clinton-or-johns...), but it should contextualize the discussion. As far as I can tell, Tillerson could be an excellent Secretary of State. He could also be a terrible one.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  Yeah, it's hard to tell. Like Tom Wheeler we expected to be a telecom industry shill, but he ended up fighting for us as hard as he fought for the industry before he took the job. Sadly his replacement is already voting against us. But until someone starts acting in a public capacity, it's hard to gauge whether they'll keep old loyalties or not.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  There's also other dimensions; he might be a very effective Secretary of State that does things that lots of people disagree with.
joshontheweb 10y ago
I watched his hearing and was really expecting to dislike the guy. He actually sounded very reasonable and had well thought out answers to each question. Whether he can truly avoid any conflict of interest has yet to be seen. He is definitely a bit suspect given his previous position.
- zbyte64 10y ago
  The conflict of interests is my concern as well. We didn't get a clear picture of how he would avoid a conflict if it were between Exon & Russia vs USA. Though I did appreciate the fact that he did disclose his finances to the ethics review unlike many of the other nominees. Maybe he will be like Tom Wheeler, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.
dekhn 10y ago
Tillerson is really smart. I don't see a problem with this unless you're a super-hater on Exxon.
- zbyte64 10y ago
  .. or if you're a super-hater of conflicts of interests .. or if you're a super-hater of those who downplay global warming
  - loafa 10y ago
    Or more likely, if you're just a super-hater of Trump and/or Republicans and feel the need to claim that every single decision is terrible, disastrous, stupid etc. Let's face it, roughly 80% of political discourse comes down to this, from one side or another, and can safely be ignored.
  - dekhn 10y ago
    During his confirmation hearings, he explicitly said he believed that climate change exists, and that humans have a contribution.
loafa 10y ago
What's with the "actually" in the title?

8 points by davidiach 10y ago

So far I haven't seen a strong explanation about why he wouldn't be. There is much to hate about Trump—I in particular worry about the way he raises the risks of global nuclear war: https://jakeseliger.com/2016/11/28/trump-fears-and-the-nuclear-apocalypse https://jakeseliger.com/2016/11/28/trump-fears-and-the-nucle... —but it seems unwise to automatically oppose anyone he proposes for his Cabinet. It is also not impossible that he will appoint a good FDA commissioner: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/01/will-trump-appoint-great-fda-commissioner.html http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2017/01/wil.... One should reserve opprobrium for where it is deserved and not fire it off generically, especially based on innuendo. Again, that is not to approve (https://jakeseliger.com/2016/10/10/vote-for-clinton-or-johnson-for-president/ https://jakeseliger.com/2016/10/10/vote-for-clinton-or-johns...), but it should contextualize the discussion. As far as I can tell, Tillerson could be an excellent Secretary of State. He could also be a terrible one.

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
Yeah, it's hard to tell. Like Tom Wheeler we expected to be a telecom industry shill, but he ended up fighting for us as hard as he fought for the industry before he took the job. Sadly his replacement is already voting against us. But until someone starts acting in a public capacity, it's hard to gauge whether they'll keep old loyalties or not.
maxerickson 10y ago
There's also other dimensions; he might be a very effective Secretary of State that does things that lots of people disagree with.

joshontheweb 10y ago

I watched his hearing and was really expecting to dislike the guy. He actually sounded very reasonable and had well thought out answers to each question. Whether he can truly avoid any conflict of interest has yet to be seen. He is definitely a bit suspect given his previous position.

zbyte64 10y ago
The conflict of interests is my concern as well. We didn't get a clear picture of how he would avoid a conflict if it were between Exon & Russia vs USA. Though I did appreciate the fact that he did disclose his finances to the ethics review unlike many of the other nominees. Maybe he will be like Tom Wheeler, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.

dekhn 10y ago

Tillerson is really smart. I don't see a problem with this unless you're a super-hater on Exxon.

zbyte64 10y ago
.. or if you're a super-hater of conflicts of interests .. or if you're a super-hater of those who downplay global warming
- loafa 10y ago
  Or more likely, if you're just a super-hater of Trump and/or Republicans and feel the need to claim that every single decision is terrible, disastrous, stupid etc. Let's face it, roughly 80% of political discourse comes down to this, from one side or another, and can safely be ignored.
- dekhn 10y ago
  During his confirmation hearings, he explicitly said he believed that climate change exists, and that humans have a contribution.

loafa 10y ago

What's with the "actually" in the title?