Political Equinox

This is the first in a series of posts I will make on the Obama cabinet in the next few days.

State

• Hillary Clinton – Senator Clinton appears to have a lock on the job if she’d like it; however, I’m not convinced she will accept the position. The Secretary of State position would give her enormous experience points in foreign policy, but I think the Senate is still the place for her if she is even thinking about running in 2016. But the other question is will the offer still stand after the Obama team finishing digging up dirt on Bill Clinton’s dealings – he’s quite a lot of baggage.
• Senator John Kerry – The runner up for the job and possible second choice. Senator Kerry has certainly earned the job and he certainly has the experience for the position. Leaving our presidential preferences of 2004 out of the picture, it isn’t hard to agree that Senator Kerry’s foreign policy experience puts him at the top of list for this position. The question here is, does Obama feel he’s the right fit and will Hillary turn down the job offer?
• Senator Richard Lugar – Despite the fact that Richard Lugar denies that he will be joining the Obama Administration, he would be an apt choice for the position. It may also give him an excellent role from which he can retire from politics after serving President Obama. Lugar has been trading the Chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a few sessions of Congress. Finally, Obama said in the final debate that “Richard Lugar is one of the people who have shaped my ideas and who will be surrounding me in the White House”. Lugar appears to be behind at least Senator Kerry in the slot for the job.
• Greg Craig – Craig is a Washington-based attorney who serves as a foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama. In 1997, Craig was a senior advisor to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, where he was tasked with dealing with the China’s suppression of Tibet. However, Craig also defended President Bill Clinton during his impeachment process, which may not go over well with many Americans, despite the fact that it was part of his job as as Assistant to the President and Special Counsel.
• Gov. Bill Richardson – Richardson, a former Democratic presidential hopeful himself, appears to take much the same role as he did in the campaign, a dark horse. It is unlikely that Obama will select Richardson as the next Secretary of State. I see the New Mexico Governor at least fourth on the list, if not farther behind or out of the running completely. I’d be shocked to see the announcement of Richardson as the Secretary of State, but that doesn’t mean he’s not qualified.

Agriculture

• Tom Vilsack – The former Democratic Presidential hopeful who quickly discovered he wasn’t America’s choice. As the former Governor of Iowa, Vilsack certainly has plenty of experience running a state with heavy Agricultural industries. The Washington Post reported that the Obama-Biden Transition Team believes Vilsack to be a “shoo-in” for the job.
• Colin Peterson – Peterson is the distant second-place finisher in the bid for the next USDA leader. Peterson, a Representative from Minnesota’s 7th district, has been the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee since 2007, when the Democrats found their new majority, prior to that he had been the Ranking Member since 2005. Peterson is also considered one of the most conservative Democrats.

Homeland Security

• Gov. Janet Napolitano – The Arizona Governor appears to be Obama’s top choice for Homeland Security. While I originally pictured her in the Attorney General role, when that slot went to Eric Holder, Jr. Obama must have believed that Napolitano was important enough to keep around in the campaign. Napolitano also serves on the Obama/Biden Transition team.
• Richard Clarke – Richard Clarke may be the next leader of Homeland Security. Clarke was a government employee for 30 years dating back to 1973. He served in the State Department under Ronald Reagan and as the chief counter-terrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council under Bill Clinton. Clarke is famous for his public disagreements with the Bush Administration over counter-terrorism efforts before 9/11 and the decision to go to war in Iraq.
• Lee Hamilton – Hamilton is a Hoosier, 1956 graduate of the Indiana University School of Law, and the former Congressman from Indiana’s 9th District before retiring in 1999 with 30 years of service. Hamilton is considered an excellent negotiator, he was the vice-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, and currently serves on President’s Homeland Security Advisory Council. Hamilton certainly has the experience and he was even considered as a running mate to Michael Dukakis and Bill Clinton. Nevertheless, he appears to lag behind Richard Clarke in the running for the job, but look for Hamilton’s name to pop up should others decline the position.
• Tim Roemer – Roemer had been considered as an outside shot to be Barack Obama’s running mate because of his moderate views and national security experience and he was also considered a contender for the gubernatorial nomination of the Indiana Democratic Party before deciding not to run. Roemer served in Congress as an Indiana Representative for a little more than a decade before deciding not to run for re-election in 2002. Romer was a member of the 9/11 Commission, currently serves on the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, and is the current president of the Center for National Policy, which is a national security think-tank.

Interior

• Brian Schweitzer – Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer appears to be the leading candidate for the job. Serving the State of Montana since 2004 certainly gives the Democratic Governor plenty of experience in land management. It is quite likely that Schweitzer will be appointed the nations next Secretary of “the Department of Everything Else.”
• Christine Gregoire – The Governor of Washington could bring another female voice to the cabinet, especially if Hillary Clinton does not fill the slot of Secretary of State. Gregoire was recently elected to a second term as governor of the state, where she served as Attorney General before her gubernatorial run. Prior to that she had been the director at the Washington Department of Ecology where she worked with the EPA and Department of Energy on a clean-up job at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.