Most of those are anecdotal, but the Vietnam commission is a good point on his resume. With Biden’s promotion, Kerry is in line for chairmanship of the foreign affairs committee. That’s a more appropriate role for him as far as I’m concerned. Biden was the chairman and if he hadn’t wanted to be VP, Obama said he would have considered him for Secretary of State.
I think Biden is far too prone to popping off with a weird or inflammatory remark to be Secretary of State.
Be that as it may, Obama apparently did want to make use of his foreign affairs experience even after his goofy “clean” remark. I’ve said this a couple of times in various thread in recent weeks and I don’t know if I’ve shown my cite, so here it is:
Not to hijack, but is “right in his wheelhouse” the latest piece of corporate/political jargon that is making the rounds right now? That’s the third time I’ve heard it this week.
I do think Napolitano is setting up to try to knock McCain off in 2010 so I doubt she’d leave the state as she’s trying to lock up her support for that.
I’ve also thought that Patrick Fitzgerald would be a good choice for AG. You won’t find many high-profile lawyers with his positives these days. And he’d be a good choice for the ‘cleaning up’ of the DoJ after the recent scandals.
I also think that both Clarke and Richardson are due for some sort of payback after their early endorsements of Obama, certainly because they’d always been seen as Clintonites and they burned some serious bridges. Richardson is a natural for SecState and Clarke as SecDef.
i always thought it would be fun to throw ralph nader at the epa. see how he likes working inside the government instead of outside.
i know there is talk about caroline kennedy at the un. i’m thinking she might be a supreme court pic.
sen. obama not only learns from his own experiences but that of others.
pres. clinton’s admin. had a tough time getting things through at first because he picked many people who were outside of dc and didn’t know the ins and outs.
by having some old hands in the admin. you have people who can get things through the channels quickly.
It’s from baseball, as far as I know - I have no idea what the expression means exactly, but in baseball terms it refers to a pitch that has been thrown right to the place where the batter’s best swing will most naturally connect. (Usually resulting in a home run or other solid hit).
Just saw this long list of potentials for various Cabinet positions.
Full article here from Yahoo News.
Joe Wilson as Secretary of State, or Ambassador to the UN. It would be nice to have a career diplomat in either position, rather than politicians. And would be a nice repudiation of the Bush administration’s scorched earth policy against him.
Please don’t throw things, but Hillary Clinton could make a perfectly fine Secretary of State.
What are the odds Obama will have a Republican in his Cabinet? Good? Fair? Bad? I’d like Specter, he seems reasonable. And I don’t think Dean would be a good choice, too “entrenched insider”. He needs fresh faces with good resumes.
I am kind of disheartened at the Emmanuel pick. Way too Clinton/DLC/AIPAC-y for what I would consider real change. I’d like to think the pick was for the Illinois strong arming, and not his policy positions; I *really *hope it was not for the policy positions. I would have maybe picked Howard Dean. We’ll see…
Press Sec: I think it’s already filled, but I would have put **Rachel Maddow **(or selfishly) **Elizabeth Kucinich **here.
AG: **Vincent Bugliosi **- Unlikely but hey, this is my list. **Sheldon Whitehouse ** or Janet Napolitano have the experience and would be good picks. I’m hoping Napolitano will take McCain’s Senate seat. But man, do I wish we could have seen a AG Obama sometime along the way, he would have been the perfect pick in a Clinton admin.
**Chief Foreign Policy Adviser: **Colin Powell- He’ll be in the Whitehouse, but not as a Secretary.
**Sec.State: **Bill Richardson- To me, the most obvious of all appointments.
Sec.Peace: Dennis Kucinich- Just let me dream of this one.
Sec.Defense: Chuck Hagel- The premier bipartisan pick of this cabinet.
Sec.Homeland Security: Thad Allen- One of the few officials that really rose to the challenges of Katrina.
Sec.Veterans Affairs: **Tammy Duckworth **- IL’s Sec VA, Iraq vet, perfect for the job; or Max Cleeland, Paul Rieckhoff
Sec.Treasury: Muhammad Yunus- I can only imagine how the “news” channels would report this pick, but as to Obama’s “change from the ground up”- this is the perfect pick.
Sec.H&HS: Elizabeth Edwards- She seems to be the premier go to person for Healthcare policy right now. I like the **Kathleen Sebelius **idea, but since she is not VP I am banking on her taking Brownback’s Senate seat.
Sec.Labor: Dennis Kucinich- Assuming no Peace Cabinet, his interest for American workers is unmatched.
Sec.Commerce: Olympia Snowe- A moderate Republican who is more on the Dem side with economic/social issues. It would clear the seat for a likely Dem pick up. No doubt, slighted by the Palin pick; she would be a great person to bring into the fold.
Sec.Transportation: John Hickenlooper- Mayor of Denver, has done an outstanding work with the lightrail system. No longer in Denver myself, but everything I’ve read/heard about him, I like this guy.
Sec.Energy: Al Gore- Doubt he’d take it, but worth a shot. Just *please *keep T.Boone Pickens far away; I simply don’t trust him in any official role., or at all to be honest.
Sec.Interior: Lincoln Chafee- Former Republican, good guy with a great environmental record. Though if Sen. Whitehouse, were to be AG, I’d expect Chafee to take his seat back.
Word today is that no cabinet members will be named this week. I’m guessing they still want to get some significant names out there by Thanksgiving, though.
Am I the only person who thinks Rahm Emanuel makes Biden’s foibles look tame? Stabbing a table at a restaraunt yelling “dead” after each name on a list of political enemies seems more like an FBI file in the making and not a resume builder for the job for Chief of staff. Is telling the Republican party they can go fuck themselves the words of a stable politician and is this Obama’s idea of reaching across the aisle?
I’m a fan of Kucinich, and it looks like this is his idea, but frankly, I’d be frightened of any branch called “Department of Peace”. Any legitimate function it would have is already covered by the State Department or the Department of Education, and there’s just too many Orwellian overtones there.
A Chief of Staff isn’t in front of the cameras as much as a Senator/VP, so that probably accounts for the difference.
I don’t know a lot about the guy, but he seems like the type who is focused on getting things done. I don’t like some of the names being floated out there but I think it’d be better to wait for him to name even one person in his cabinet (much less the whole cabinet) before we determine Obama’s intent.
While that may be true in the literal sense it isn’t in the world of the internet. Any foot-in-mouth moments are going to make the rounds at the speed of light. If Obama has to spend time talking about Rahm’S gaffs then he losses focus and looks bad.
Rahm Emanuel is Obama’s pitbull, sans lipstick. His job will be to make sure that the tough shit gets done. He let’s Obama remain focused and keep his hands clean. What I’ve read about Emanuel makes him out to be brash but conciliatory. Interesting that a fictional character based on his brother is credited with bringing the phrase “Let’s hug it out, bitch” into the modern lexicon.
I did not initially see Rahmbo’s appeal but now understand how smart of a pick he is. Obama needs a team to delegate to get things done. Biden will work the Senate for him. Collegiality works there. The House is a tougher beast filled with Representatives who have to report back to narrow interest constituencies in short order, and Rahmbo, brashness and vulgarity and all, knows how to work the place and get things done there too. The right tool for each job.
This is true.
I believe Paulson has already said he will not stay on if asked…as if that would happen. That Paulson, what a card.