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Assembling the cabinet and selecting their closest advisors is one of the most important tasks facing a President-elect. This arduous task is made more difficult and complicated because of the Senate’s constitutional right to confirm nearly all presidential nominees. In the past, partisanship and nepotism has guided presidential appointments, and few if any members of the opposing party were chosen to serve in the President’s cabinet. President-elect Obama has promised to be different and will carefully pick the most qualified person for each cabinet and advisory position. Partisanship aside, the country needs the “change” President-elect Obama has promised to deliver.
Barack Obama’s first appointment to his staff was Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) who will serve as White House Chief of Staff. First elected to the House of Representatives in 2002, Emanuel was a former Clinton administration staff member. Emanuel is known for his effectiveness in Washington, and as a principal architect of the Democratic campaign strategy which won them a majority in the 2006 mid-term elections.
The next major selection to the Obama team was newly minted Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. A veteran of national communications teams, Gibbs has worked with Sen. John Kerry and then Sen. Barack Obama for the better part of the last decade. As the second most visible member of the government, Gibbs brings loyalty and extensive knowledge of key media figures to the Obama administration and will be a valuable asset when Obama’s honeymoon with the press ends.
One of the most important and vital appointments made by Obama in the current economic climate is the Secretary of the Treasury. New York Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Timothy Geithner has been tapped for the position, and he will need to restore public confidence in the position after the missteps and miscalculations of Henry Paulson. Geithner has been one of Wall St.’s best financial minds and has helped manage the acquisitions and mergers of many of the largest banking and loan companies within the last year. Obama believes that Geithner can team with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Economic Advisory Council to break the trend of bank closings and mortgage foreclosures.
Another disgraced office that President-elect Obama intends to rejuvenate is the office of Attorney General. He has nominated Eric Holder as Attorney General of the United States, and if confirmed will become the first African American to serve in that position. Mr. Holder served as assistant Attorney General during the Clinton administration and has worked as both an attorney and a judge. Holder will look to restore an office left scarred by Alberto Gonzalez, the Federal prosecutor scandal, and the sanctioning of torture. Holder had been an advisor to Obama during the primary process and later the general election.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano will soon head the newest department in the U.S. Government. The Department of Homeland Security is one of the most essential departments in this time of global terrorism. Gov. Napolitano has been Governor of Arizona since 2002 and had previously worked as an attorney and Arizona State Attorney General. Sen. John McCain praised Gov. Napolitano as someone who will no doubt have a profound impact on the Obama administration and called the pick “brilliant”.
So far, the lone Republican on President-elect Obama’s cabinet is a holdover from the Bush administration, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Gates has held the position for nearly two years and has been viewed by many to be a mastermind of war strategy. Obama and the majority of pundits agree that Gates will help shepherd the next administration through the transition with the ongoing wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates previously was the Director of the CIA and was the deputy National Security advisor to George H.W. Bush.
President-elect Obama looks to strengthen his foreign policy by selecting Ret. Gen. Jim Jones as his National Security Advisor. He served in Vietnam in the late 60’s, and rose to the rank of General and appointed commandant of the United States Marine Corps. Jones was formerly the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and also the Commander of the United States European Command. Jones is one of the most qualified men in the country for this position because of his vast knowledge of both the military and US foreign policy.
Certainly the most important and most fascinating pick by President-elect Obama was his appointment of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, has served as the junior Senator from New York since 2000 and recently lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama. Clinton has experience not only from her time in the Senate, but also from her time as the First Lady of the United States where she travelled to many countries and dealt with many foreign governments. Clinton is by far the highest profile pick for Obama’s cabinet to date and will surely grab her share of headlines over the next few years.
Barack Obama’s cabinet brings together some of the most talented and qualified public servants that America has to offer. President-elect Obama has so far picked what on paper would be a dream team; however, there are still many more appointments to follow. Do not be surprised to see other former rivals such as Bill Richardson join the Obama cabinet in the coming weeks and do not be surprised if at least one more Republican – possibly retired Sen. Chuck Hagel – is asked to join Obama’s inner circle.
Barack Obama has rebuffed precedent, looked to history, and has unveiled a new and exciting group of men and women fully capable of restoring American prominence in the world. |
