# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/41 "2008-11-06T19:02:15Z")
How about Arizona Gov. Napolitano? I’ve heard she is being considered for Head of Homeland Security or maybe for Attny General. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/42 "2008-11-06T19:03:23Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Can I just say that I think it’s funny as hell that two of the first 3 members of the Obama administration have plausibly-Arabic names? I had that thought to. What I didn’t know until just now that Rahm Emanuel is actually Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/43 "2008-11-06T19:14:37Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Can I just say that I think it’s funny as hell that two of the first 3 members of the Obama administration have plausibly-Arabic names? Do they? I would have thought you couldn’t get much more obviously Hebrew than “Emanuel.” Is it an Arabic name as well? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/44 "2008-11-06T19:14:53Z")
His parents are Israeli, although he was born and raised in the U.S. “Rahm” - rhymes with “Tom” - is a common Israeli name. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/45 "2008-11-06T19:18:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > His parents are Israeli, although he was born and raised in the U.S. “Rahm” - rhymes with “Tom” - is a common Israeli name. I prefer to think of it as “Rahm, as in Spaceknight”. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/46 "2008-11-06T19:20:21Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > Do they? I would have thought you couldn’t get much more obviously Hebrew than “Emanuel.” Is it an Arabic name as well? Sure. Only people I knew who had it as a first name were Christians, but none the less. There’s two 'ayns in it and everything. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/47 "2008-11-06T20:29:12Z")
Dream appointment: Vincent Bugliosi - Attorney General ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/48 "2008-11-06T23:21:49Z")
A fun article on [Rahm](http://www.newsweek.com/id/130605) back from the Clinton being forked days … Rahmbo as the Terminator. I guess he’ll be a good “bad cop”, knows how to work the House (many who owe him), and has great ties to all of the Clinton side of the party. He just seems so antithetical to the let’s listen to all POVs stylistic that you hear about Obama … ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/49 "2008-11-07T02:06:15Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > A fun article on [Rahm](http://www.newsweek.com/id/130605) back from the Clinton being forked days … Rahmbo as the Terminator. > > I guess he’ll be a good “bad cop”, knows how to work the House (many who owe him), and has great ties to all of the Clinton side of the party. He just seems so antithetical to the let’s listen to all POVs stylistic that you hear about Obama … Well, after listening to all POVs, you need to actually decide on a course of action and implement it. I imagine that’s going to be a big part of his job. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/50 "2008-11-07T03:19:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Thirded. Other than anti-vax nimrods and Rolling Stone, I don’t know who would want to see Kennedy at that job. The anti-vax thing might be exactly why Obama is thinking of picking him. Early on, Obama’s campaign promised to seriously fund studies into the ‘link’ between vaccinations and autism. I don’t know if that remained part of the platform until the end, but the autism craziness was certainly part of the early Obama platform. To be fair, I think McCain also paid lip service to it. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/51 "2008-11-07T03:28:57Z")
If Obama really wants to clean up the Justice Dept., he should appoint Patrick Fitzgerald as Attorney General. Fitzgerald has sent numerous Illinois politicians to jail (from both political parties) and has a sterling reputation for honesty and non-partisanship. Also, I love the idea of Richard Clarke as Director of Homeland Security. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/52 "2008-11-07T03:33:59Z")
> [@malkavia](#): > > FEMA - Rudolph Guiliani You don’t live in one of the “battleground” states, so you probably didn’t hear the really nasty anti-Obama robocalls by Giuliani. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/53 "2008-11-07T04:04:07Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > He just seems so antithetical to the let’s listen to all POVs stylistic that you hear about Obama … Good cop _needs_ the bad cop. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/54 "2008-11-07T07:55:58Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > If Obama really wants to clean up the Justice Dept., he should appoint Patrick Fitzgerald as Attorney General. Fitzgerald has sent numerous Illinois politicians to jail (from both political parties) and has a sterling reputation for honesty and non-partisanship. Ok, I said Vincent Bugliosi, but I’d be very happy with Patrick Fitzgerald too. At one point I would have said Eliot Spitzer, if he hadn’t let his dick get in the way of his common sense. > [@Frostillicus](#): > > Also, I love the idea of Richard Clarke as Director of Homeland Security. YES! Yes yes yes. 9/11 might not have happened if Bush hadn’t booted Clarke (no cite, just my own opinion from reading his book **Against All Enemies** ). Clarke and his people would certainly have paid attention to things like the infamous memo [“Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bin_Laden_Determined_to_Strike_in_U.S.) and would have taken it very very seriously, unlike Bush’s people, who blew it off. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/55 "2008-11-07T13:41:57Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > Fitzgerald has sent numerous Illinois politicians to jail (from both political parties) Fish. Barrel. 😉 But it does actually sound like a pretty good idea. Can someone please, please tell me what John Kerry has done, other than running for President and losing, that makes him qualified to be Secretary of State? I know he supposedly wants the job, but as far as actually earning it, I’m completely stumped and I don’t think he’ll get it. Obama is not expected to name any cabinet members today in his first public appearance as prezelect, but he’ll probably get there soon. Word today is that Powell is not going to come back to DC - which is good, he makes sense as an advisor but not as Secretary of State again - and that Rubin and probably Lugar aren’t interested in being in the cabinet either. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/56 "2008-11-07T13:51:36Z")
For anyone who wants to transmit their opinions to the Obama transition team about good or bad (hint hint Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) choice for the cabinet, there’s a contact form available online [here](http://www.change.gov/page/s/contact). Whether or not the Obamanians are waiting with bated breath to hear our views, it’s one way to let them know that R.F.K. Jr. would be a horrible choice for director of the E.P.A. or any other important post. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/57 "2008-11-07T14:19:00Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > For anyone who wants to transmit their opinions to the Obama transition team about good or bad (hint hint Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) choice for the cabinet, there’s a contact form available online [here](http://www.change.gov/page/s/contact). > > Whether or not the Obamanians are waiting with bated breath to hear our views, it’s one way to let them know that R.F.K. Jr. would be a horrible choice for director of the E.P.A. or any other important post. Done. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/58 "2008-11-07T15:44:10Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Can someone please, please tell me what John Kerry has done, other than running for President and losing, that makes him qualified to be Secretary of State? I know he supposedly wants the job, but as far as actually earning it, I’m completely stumped and I don’t think he’ll get it. I’m not advocating for him to get the job – I’m sure there are as good or better candidates out there, but he does have a reputation within the Senate as having excellent diplomatic skills. See [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5231361&postcount=36) from back when he was running for president for support for that contention. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/59 "2008-11-07T16:15:40Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > If Obama really wants to clean up the Justice Dept., he should appoint Patrick Fitzgerald as Attorney General. Fitzgerald has sent numerous Illinois politicians to jail (from both political parties) and has a sterling reputation for honesty and non-partisanship. That’s the first time I’ve heard this idea, and I gotta say, I really like it. I interacted with Fitzgerald on a regular basis during the whole Libby thing, and he seemed absolutely as talented, hard-working, honest, and fair-minded up close as he was reputed to be. (There would also be no small measure of irony to that appointment, considering that Libby got his sentence commuted the instant – or at least the afternoon – that the D.C. Circuit agreed with the trial judge that Fitzgerald didn’t possess Cabinet-level authority and powers in his capacity as Special Counsel. The trial judge’s opinion went on at length detailing reasons that Fitzgerald wasn’t basically acting as Attorney General with regard to that case, so it would be really funny if he ended up as _actual_ AG when it’s all said and done.) **Marley23:** > [@](#): > > Can someone please, please tell me what John Kerry has done, other than running for President and losing, that makes him qualified to be Secretary of State? I know he supposedly wants the job, but as far as actually earning it, I’m completely stumped and I don’t think he’ll get it. I completely agree with your confusion, and I hope he doesn’t get it. I still think Bill Richardson makes a lot of sense for the post. > [@](#): > > Word today is that Powell is not going to come back to DC - which is good, he makes sense as an advisor but not as Secretary of State again - and that Rubin and probably Lugar aren’t interested in being in the cabinet either. Robert Rubin? If so, good. _He’s_ the kind of guy that I don’t think would fit in well with Obama’s message of change. Robert Reich paints an extremely unflattering picture of Rubin in his memoir _Locked in the Cabinet_, which I highly recommend, and while I take Reich’s perspective on the matter with several grains of salt (and wouldn’t want Reich near the Obama administration either), I definitely think Rubin is too entrenched in the centrist, triangulatory ways of the DLC to be effective at Treasury for Obama. …On a different note, a friend of mine speculated that if Gates stays at Defense, Chuck Hagel might be a very good fit as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. A step down from being a senator, of course, but it’s right in his wheelhouse – and he’s retiring anyway, so it’s not as if it would be a demotion in practice. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282/60 "2008-11-07T16:49:05Z")
> [@Reloy3](#): > > Dave Freudenthal would be a great Secretary of the Interior. Given that he wouldn’t run for Senator in a race he’d be likely to win, I doubt it. He’s said he likes being Governor. > [@autz](#): > > How about Arizona Gov. Napolitano? I’ve heard she is being considered for Head of Homeland Security or maybe for Attny General. Interesting thought. It would certainly make it easier for her to defeat McCain in 2010. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-cabinet-not-the-kind-thats-made-of-wood/471282.md?page=4)