Love him or hate him, almost everyone can agree on at least one thing about Glenn Beck; he does do a good job of noting what he believes are objectionable practices by people he doesn't like. And it is pretty clear that President Obama is on his naughty list.
Therefore, it is not surprising that he has spent a lot of his time noting how many people with connections to the Administration from the Chicago days have become 'czars' in Washington. Not only this, but he has spent a lot of time decrying the idea of czars in the first place.
Despite this, and despite the wild rants that czars seem to lead to, there is clearly a place in any administration for experts. For example, few would argue that qualified experts on AIDS, drugs or health are important. However there is not a ton of evidence that any of the people on the list above have qualifications above and beyond being Democrats and big contributors to Democrats. It is also not clear why such experts could not fit into existing agencies unless the whole purpose of czars is to avoid oversight (a claim often made by opponents).
Despite being able to find some curiosities in the above list, the latest addition to the lineup may take the cake (pun intended, but only after catching it in editing...); President Obama has named his personal chef from Chicago 'health food czar.' Though it is important for Americans to take better care of themselves (this is particularly true now that we have taken on the collective burden of ensuring and insuring the health of the nation), and though the First Lady has rightly pointed out the risks of a epidemically out-of-shape public, one has to feel that there might have been better qualified people for this job. Then again, the Obamas are in pretty good shape...
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