# Who would be in Obama or McCain's cabinet?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-in-obama-or-mccains-cabinet/469542>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [October 25, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-in-obama-or-mccains-cabinet/469542 "2008-10-25T19:15:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-in-obama-or-mccains-cabinet/469542/21 "2008-10-26T21:39:08Z")

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why would a democrat pick a republican for a cabinet member? wait no don’t answer in this thread … any response would generate more puzzlemet and questions from me. i opened new thread in imho. please join

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**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-in-obama-or-mccains-cabinet/469542/22 "2008-10-26T21:44:35Z")

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> [@Marley23](#):
>
> I’m surprised that I haven’t read much about this earlier, but [the New York Times discusses potential Obama and McCain appointments in this article.](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/25/us/politics/25transition.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1)
> 
> Here are the listed possibilities, although different advisors for each camp suggest different people. What do you think of these possibilities, and who else might be a good pick for the various posts?
> 
> OBAMA  
> W.H. Chief of Staff: Tom Daschle, Rahm Emmanuel, William M. Daley or Pete Rouse (Obama’s Senate Chief of Staff)  
> Treasury Secretary: Timothy Geithner (NY Fed Bank Chairman), Paul Voeckler (ex-Fed Chairman), or former T.Secs. Lawrence Summers and Robert Rubin  
> Defense Secretary: Robert Gates could be asked to stay  
> Veterans Affairs: James Peake could be retained
> 
> MCCAIN  
> Chief of Staff: John Lehman  
> Defense: Gates or Lieberman  
> State: Lieberman or World Bank head Robert Zoellick  
> Treasury: John Thain of Merrill Lynch, Zoellick, NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg or Mitt Romney
> 
> [Here’s a link to the current cabinet, so you can see all the spots.](http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/cabinet.html)

I saw Rubin interviewed today and he does not want to go back into the white house. He says Obama has been consulting with top financial experts and has a good understanding. There are some good choices around.

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**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:** [October 26, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-in-obama-or-mccains-cabinet/469542/23 "2008-10-26T23:13:44Z")

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Personally, I’d love to see Nouriel Roubini as the Treasury Secretary. But I doubt that would happen.

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**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:** [October 27, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-be-in-obama-or-mccains-cabinet/469542/24 "2008-10-27T00:20:39Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> How about T. Boone Pickens for Energy for either candidate? Let’s see him try to take the next step with his “Pickens Plan.”

He’s doing good work, but it would probably be a conflict of interest for the head of an energy company to be named Secretary of Energy.

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