# Obama's Cabinet (not the kind that's made of wood) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 5, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282 "2008-11-05T16:11:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/1 "2008-11-05T16:11:46Z")
So, because someone has to start this thread: Let’s have rampant speculation about Obama’s Cabinet. (President-elect Obama. President Obama! I’m still in shock.) I think Bill Richardson has a great shot at Secretary of State, and Chuck Hagel at Secretary of Defense. I also think they’d both be excellent choices. Beyond that… Is there a position Obama can offer Hillary that would suit her many talents and wouldn’t be a step down from the Senate? She doesn’t have the background to be Attorney General, and there’s no reason at all to think that she’d make a good Supreme Court Justice. Would she accept HHS? Would she be wasted there? Is it safe to assume that John Edwards won’t be playing a significant part in the Obama administration? Bill Clinton: UN Ambassador? Speculation is that Rahm Emanuel is the frontrunner for Obama’s Chief of Staff position, which I think works well. He’s going to be a force in the party for awhile. (Schweitzer/Emanuel 2016!) Speaking of which, would Brian Schweitzer leave Montana to become Secretary of Energy? Does Kathleen Sebelius come to Washington in some capacity? Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/2 "2008-11-05T16:19:45Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves Gates at Defense. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/3 "2008-11-05T16:24:17Z")
Just to toss some real-world possibilities in there, here’s [a thread I started about the cabinets a while back](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=489551). I know I said this in there too, but people here keep predicting the cabinet will be made up of big names and other politicians - that’s probably not how it’s going to work. You’d have too many ball-hogs and not enough bureaucrat specialist team players. In particular, no way is Hillary Clinton going to become a cabinet-level secretary: with Ted Kennedy’s illness, she is set to be the Senate leader on health care, always her biggest issue. She wouldn’t give that up, and she’s said she doesn’t want to be on the Supreme Court or do something else. Schweitzer just got re-elected as Governor, so I don’t think he’s leaving Montana. Richardson as a Secretary of State is a real possibility. Edwards is toast. Hegel might be a logical defense pick, but Obama has indicated he might ask Robert Gates to stay on board. No idea if he’d take that offer. I think Geithner will be the pick in treasury, and we’ll probably get the official word in a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/4 "2008-11-05T16:24:45Z")
Foreign Policy has some picks of 10 contributors on their website today: [http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story\_id=4507&page=0](http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4507&page=0) ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/5 "2008-11-05T16:38:31Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves Gates at Defense. I’d be willing to take a bet on this. While it’s possible that he leaves Gates in place, I gotta believe that Chuck Hagel is a near-lock to be offered a spot in the administration, and Defense is the overwhelmingly logical place for him. **Marley23:** > [@](#): > > I know I said this in there too, but people here keep predicting the cabinet will be made up of big names and other politicians - that’s probably not how it’s going to work. You’d have too many ball-hogs and not enough bureaucrat specialist team players. In particular, no way is Hillary Clinton going to become a cabinet-level secretary: with Ted Kennedy’s illness, she is set to be the Senate leader on health care, always her biggest issue. She wouldn’t give that up, and she’s said she doesn’t want to be on the Supreme Court or do something else. Schweitzer just got re-elected as Governor, so I don’t think he’s leaving Montana. Richardson as a Secretary of State is a real possibility. Edwards is toast. I agree with pretty much all of this, although I think that Schweitzer coming on board at Energy is at least a possibility. It’s his pet issue, and if he’s at all interested in establishing a national presence for 2016 (not to mention doing some good on a larger scale), I think he’d consider it. But yeah, I don’t see Hillary or Edwards as being realistically in the mix. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/6 "2008-11-05T16:43:10Z")
Huffpo says Emanuel was offered chief of staff. I like Wesley Clark for Defense. I do not want one of the thieves who made a fortune to touch Treasury. Paulson should be on Survivor Palau or some other place far away. There are plenty of good economists out there. Hedge fund managers should be spending all their money on defense lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/7 "2008-11-05T16:43:43Z")
Didn’t I read somewhere that he was planning to appoint people like Louis Farrakhan, Jerimiah Wright, and Michael Jordan to his cabinet? Or was that some Freeper’s fevered dream? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/8 "2008-11-05T16:50:58Z")
A fairly plugged in friend of mine offers his thoughts: > [@](#): > > Richardson does have a good shot at Secretary of State. I’m sticking with a dark horse pick of Anne-Marie Slaugther as well. > > Chuck Hagel as SecDef is a good bet, but honestly I think you keep Gates in there for a while as a show of stability. But honestly I’d really like to see a Dem in this slot to cut down on the “Ds need Rs to run defense” meme. > > Tom Daschle as Secretary of Labor, perhaps. > > I don’t think Hillary moves into the Cabinet, though there will probably be an offer. She’s going to be the next Ted Kennedy in the Senate. > > Rahm Emmanuel will be chief of staff. > > Linda Darling Hammond for EdSec. Also, possibly Jack Dale from Fairfax, but I don’t think he wants it. > > Kathleen Sebelius should stay in Kansas, so she can run for 2010 Senate when her term limit is up. > > Likewise, I don’t think we want to move Schweitzer to washington, at least not right away. He’d lose a lot of street cred making that move. > > Arnold for Energy Secretary? > > I’m at a loss for AG, I’ve seen Gov. Napolitano’s name come up, but that doesn’t make sense to me. I’ll leave that one to you lawyers. > > HHS - Again, at a loss, it would make sense to plug in a gov. Here, but I’m not up on who would be a good fit. I’d actually love to see him offer it to Jindal - keeping your enemies closer, plus, the Exorcisms can only be a plus, right? > > I don’t think Bill C. takes UN Ambassador, too small potatoes for him and his Global Initiative. Powell might be a good choice for this slot, despite the whole WMD thing. I’d also like to offer [Seth Waxman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Waxman) as a dark horse candidate for Attorney General, based on nothing but my own speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/9 "2008-11-05T17:19:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Speaking of which, would Brian Schweitzer leave Montana to become Secretary of Energy? Probably not… He’s currently none too keen on the idea of entering the world of Washington politics. In eight years, that might change, but probably not right now. In another thread, I saw someone float the idea of Al Gore as energy secretary, and at least on the surface, it looks like it makes a lot of sense. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/10 "2008-11-05T17:25:56Z")
**Chronos:** > [@](#): > > In another thread, I saw someone float the idea of Al Gore as energy secretary, and at least on the surface, it looks like it makes a lot of sense. Very interesting thought; I agree it makes some sense. By the way, **Chronos** , as a Montana resident, what are your thoughts on Schweitzer? Is he really the way he comes across in the speeches that I’ve seen? That is, kind of a white rancher version of Obama, super-articulate and personable with a folksiness that belies a broad awareness of global affairs (not to mention a fluency in Arabic)? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/11 "2008-11-05T18:17:07Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > Speculation is that Rahm Emanuel is the frontrunner for Obama’s Chief of Staff position, which I think works well. Fox news is confirming this choice now on their front page. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/12 "2008-11-05T18:20:10Z")
A couple more names to throw out there: [Eric Holder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Holder) for Attorney General, although I still prefer [Seth Waxman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Waxman). [Neal Katyal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Katyal) for Solicitor General. He’s also a guy that should be getting serious Supreme Court consideration, should a vacancy open up later in Obama’s (first?) term. [Akhil Amar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhil_Reed_Amar) is likely to be on any Supreme Court shortlist that Obama puts together (although it’s virtually certain that the first vacancy on the Court, and maybe the first two vacancies, will be filled by women, if he can find suitable candidates). [Fareed Zakaria](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fareed_Zakaria) for National Security Advisor, perhaps. He’s certainly got the credentials, but it’s unclear whether there would be any lasting effects from McCain’s attempt to tar him during the campaign. [Jay Inslee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Inslee) for Interior. …Lotsa funny-sounding names up there. 🙂 America is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/13 "2008-11-05T18:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > By the way, Chronos, as a Montana resident, what are your thoughts on Schweitzer? Schweitzer is the kind of guy who can express a complex, nuanced position in a single sentence, and have it make so much sense that it’s hard to see how it could be any other way. He’s also a reasoned, well-educated intellectual, who also manages to seamlessly be a down-to-Earth, “just folks” guy. We’re very fond of him around here: He won his re-election bid by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/14 "2008-11-05T20:01:26Z")
My fantasy cabinet so far: Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Max Cleland Secretary of Defense - Wesley Clark Secretary of Agriculture - Bill Richardson Dept of Homeland Security - Richard Clarke FEMA - Rudolph Guiliani EPA - Al Gore Secretary of the Treasury - Warren Buffet Secretary of State - John McCain Secretary of the dept of Information Technology (new dept!) - Linus Torvalds Secretary of the dept of Health and Human Services - Howard Dean Secretary of the Interior - Bill Clinton Press Secretary - Hunter Thompson (shh, I SAID fantasy!) ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/15 "2008-11-05T20:12:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Secretary of Defense - Wesley Clark Yikes. > [@](#): > > Secretary of Agriculture - Bill Richardson Does he have any expertise at all in agriculture? Regardless, this would be on par with his SecEnergy days under Clinton, and I don’t think there’s any way he’d accept it. > [@](#): > > FEMA - Rudolph Guiliani Triple yikes. And Giuliani burned any goodwill he might have had with Obama when he sneered about community organizers (in what was possibly the single most gratuitously dickish moment of the entire campaign). > [@](#): > > EPA - Al Gore Huge step down for him and a spectacular misuse of his talents. Zero chance of it ever happening. > [@](#): > > Secretary of State - John McCain Awful, terrible, terrible, terrible, awful idea. > [@](#): > > Secretary of the Interior - Bill Clinton Again…what possible expertise does he have with the kind of things Interior does? No way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/16 "2008-11-05T20:40:39Z")
> [@](#): > > FEMA - Rudolph Guiliani That would be a good choice, actually. His biggest selling point going into the election was a proven ability to keep his cool in a crisis, to figure out what can be done, and to get started doing it. That’s a positive quality in a president, of course, but it should be the defining quality in the guy in charge of FEMA. It’ll also be good for Obama to be seen picking a few Republicans for his cabinet, and Guiliani would be a decent choice for that. > [@](#): > > Secretary of the dept of Information Technology (new dept!) - Linus Torvalds [Are you sure you want to go there?](http://www.xkcd.com/494/) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/17 "2008-11-05T20:51:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Obama’s Cabinet (not the kind that’s made of wood) So you’re saying Obama’s not going to have a cabinet consisting of witches? ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/18 "2008-11-05T20:56:24Z")
I’m a Dem, but I’d love to see Richard Lugar as Sec. of State or Defense. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/19 "2008-11-05T20:57:45Z")
> [@Gadarene](#): > > Yikes. > > Does he have any expertise at all in agriculture? Regardless, this would be on par with his SecEnergy days under Clinton, and I don’t think there’s any way he’d accept it. [http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/issues/agriculture?id=0034](http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/issues/agriculture?id=0034) I’m not saying he’d take it. If I was, I wouldn’t have thrown the word “fantasy” in there. 😉 > [@](#): > > Triple yikes. And Giuliani burned any goodwill he might have had with Obama when he sneered about community organizers (in what was possibly the single most gratuitously dickish moment of the entire campaign). This is not about Obama’s goodwill. This is about healing the partisan fissure in U.S. politics. Whether you personally think Guiliani is a dick (and honestly, I think he’s kind of a dick), he’s been a man of the people, he’s Republican (I think a bi-partisan cabinet is essential) and the public believes he’s strong during moments of crisis. This selection is as much about appearances as anything, but I think that appearances and showing inclusiveness mean a lot right now. I stand by this choice. > [@](#): > > Huge step down for him and a spectacular misuse of his talents. Zero chance of it ever happening. This isn’t about what our country can do for Al Gore.. but what Al Gore can do for our country. > [@](#): > > Awful, terrible, terrible, terrible, awful idea. I know, I fought back and forth on this one. I want him in an esteemed and important position. I want him to be the other end of the bridge, really. BUT! This may not be the place for him. I’m subbing Colin Powell. > [@](#): > > Again…what possible expertise does he have with the kind of things Interior does? No way. I do like your idea of Clinton as UN Ambassador. I will look into your recommendation of Jay Inslee. > [@Chronos](#): > > Are you sure you want to go there? My second choice was to split the position between Sergey Brin and Larry Page. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/20 "2008-11-05T20:58:35Z")
> [@](#): > > That would be a good choice, actually. His biggest selling point going into the election was a proven ability to keep his cool in a crisis, to figure out what can be done, and to get started doing it. That’s a positive quality in a president, of course, but it should be the defining quality in the guy in charge of FEMA. It’ll also be good for Obama to be seen picking a few Republicans for his cabinet, and Guiliani would be a decent choice for that. Giuliani is inflammatory and condescending. There are any number of decent Republicans out there who Obama would be perfectly well-served to install in his Cabinet. Giuliani ain’t one of them. If he hadn’t dripped venom at the RNC, it might be a different story…but he did. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282.md?page=2)