Rep. Brad Miller was impressed that Barack Obama mispronounced Peter Orszag's name.
Relaxing after a workout at the YMCA last week, the Raleigh Democrat was watching the president-elect's press conference on TV announcing his pick for the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
An acquaintance of Orszag's from Washington, he quickly noticed that Obama got his name wrong. (It's ORR-zog, not ORR-zag.)
"I thought, 'He must not know Peter very well,'" said Miller. "That means he hired him on the basis of his reputation and his credentials, and not just because he was a buddy."
Miller said he's impressed with Obama's other picks.
"He has put together a very impressive group, very accomplished and very knowledgeable," he said. "I think that he will get a very helpful debate within his own administration that will help him see pitfalls in a way that the Bush administration did not."
More after the jump.
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Miller said there is some risk that the debate within Obama's Cabinet might "spill over" into the press, making the administration appear divided, but he thinks it's better for the president to hear alternative viewpoints ahead of time.
Though Miller is one of the more liberal members of the North Carolina delegation, he was not concerned that Obama's choices included more moderate and conservative voices.
He also praised the decision to keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the job for another year, saying it helps with continuity from the Bush administration and sends a signal to the officer corps, who generally like Gates.
But he was most excited about the appointment of Sen. Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
"Her intelligence is over there where the bell curve gets real skinny," he said. "She is already well known around the world. She'll have a stature — in addition to President-elect Obama's great popularity around the world — that will be a great asset."
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