Obama and the Centre Lane of Foreign Policy

While we're mulling over the news that Robert Gates is staying on as Secretary of Defense and awaiting the announcement of the Obama "national security team" on Friday, a comment from Maria Jacinta on another thread deserves consideration:

"Obama’s foreign policy picks so far are depressing. Gen. James Jones as National Security Adviser? He backed McCain!! It’s a centre right cabinet so far. I recall a comment from Nancy Pelosi–of all people– in the NYT after the election: “The country must be governed from the middle.” Talk about capitulation. The Democrats finally have a mandate for actual change but they don’t want to use it. Govern from the center; appoint Republicans to the cabinet.

Can you imagine the Republicans governing ‘"rom the middle" if they had won? In 2001 Bush acted as though he had a landslide mandate.