Political Equinox

Defense

• Defense Secretary Robert Gates – It is extremely likely that current secretary will stay on to see the downsizing of operations in Iraq. It appears that the major holdup in this scenario is that gates wants some of his people to stay on.
• Senator Chuck Hagel – Hagel appears to be the leading candidate to replace Robert gates should he choose not to return to serve in the Obama administration. You can hardly argue with Hagel’s experience and readiness for the job which includes work in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Hagel could also be a Republican in Obama’s cabinet, which experts say he should have at least one in order to hold his promise of change by not picking all Democrats. And for one more plus, an anti-war Republican, whose name is not Ron Paul, would be a great addition to the cabinet. (Sorry, Ron Paul supporters, you’ve got no chance, no chance at all.)
• Senator Jack Reed – Senator Jack Reed is the man with the outside chance. Much like many of the other positions, Reed fills that slot of the man you’ll probably never hear picked, but you’ll want to keep an eye for the outside chance that Obama moves down the list to him. Reed is the senior senator from Rhode Island and has been serving in that capacity since 1997. Prior to his gaining a senate seat, Reed served Rhode Island in the House of Representatives for 6 years. Reed was considered a running mate for Barack Obama, but quickly announced he was not interested and was subsequently not selected. Nevertheless, a cabinet level appointment for the member of the Senate Armed Services Committee is not entirely out of the question.
  

Attorney General

• Eric Holder, Jr. – It appears that Eric Holder, Jr. has been selected as the next Attorney General.

Labor

• Linda Chavez-Thompson – Chavez-Thompson was the Executive Vice President of AFL-CIO from 1995 until her retirement from the position in 2007. Chavez currently serves as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee and a trustee on the United Way board. As the Executive Vice President of AFL-CIO, Chavez-Thompson lead efforts to raise the minimum wage and develop immigration policy reform.
• David Bonior – A former Representative from Michigan, Boiner is currently a professor of labor studies at Wayne State University and Chairman of American Rights at Work, a union advocacy group he founded. Bonior also served as the campaign manager for John Edwards until the former Senator withdrew from the race. He then joined Barack Obama’s economic advisory board.

Health and Human Services

• Tom Daschle – By the looks of things Tom Daschle will likely be the next Secretary of Health & Human Services. The Former Senate Majority Leader was widely considered a potential candidate for Obama’s Chief of Staff position, but could Health & Human Service be another option? Furthermore, Daschle has expressed interest for the position and apparently accepted late yesterday, but you know how reliable political rumors are these days.