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Possible Obama Cabinet-My List

Allen773

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Allen773
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As an Obama supporter, I was just researching who I thought would be the best candidates for Obama's Cabinet if he's elected.

Here's my list. It draws from Senators, Governors, Representatives, with a few oddballs that are none of the above. It includes mostly Democrats, but also a few Republicans. Also, there's one Bush Cabinet member who I believe Obama should keep, at least for a year or two.

Vice President: Bill Richardson
Secretary of State: Joe Biden
Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates
Secretary of Commerce: Bobby Rush
Attorney General: Ed Rendell
Secretary of Agriculture: Bruce Babbitt
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Patty Murray
Secretary of Transportation: Christopher Ward
Secretary of Labor: William Gould
Secretary of Education: Mark Yudof
Secretary of the Treasury: Michael Bloomberg
Secretary of Energy: Ted Kulongski
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Jim Ramstad
Secretary of the Interior: Mark Gearan
Secretary of Veterans' Affairs: Jim Webb

Feel free to debate me on the pros and cons of selecting these people for an Obama Cabinet.
I'd love to hear some other opinions and some alternatives to the people I propose.

Also, I strongly encourage anyone wishing to do a speculative Cabinet list for McCain, in this thread even.
 
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He probably won't pick so many sitting senators. And Hillary will definitely stay in the Senate barring a Supreme Court nomination.
 
Brainster said:
He probably won't pick so many sitting senators. And Hillary will definitely stay in the Senate barring a Supreme Court nomination.
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Good point, but Obama was struggling with Appalachian and blue-collar voters against Hillary. If, as Secretary of Labor, she has a good relationship with their unions, he could end up doing far better there if he runs for (hypothetical) reelection in 2012.

And I don't think a half-dozen or so sitting Senators amongst 14 Cabinet members is too many, but I'm no expert.:)
 
Allen773 said:
Good point, but Obama was struggling with Appalachian and blue-collar voters against Hillary. If, as Secretary of Labor, she has a good relationship with their unions, he could end up doing far better there if he runs for (hypothetical) reelection in 2012.

And I don't think a half-dozen or so sitting Senators amongst 14 Cabinet members is too many, but I'm no expert.:)
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I think the point about the sitting Senators is that the Democrats may not want to leave so many seats open and vulnerable, just when they have secured such a solid majority.
 
chipmunk stew said:
I think the point about the sitting Senators is that the Democrats may not want to leave so many seats open and vulnerable, just when they have secured such a solid majority.
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Well, I just removed several of the Senators from the list, so I understand your point and it's likely Obama does too.

Right now, I count a total of 3 open Senate seats and 2 open House seats. This may change as more people post their input.
 
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Since the only pick that has any chance of affecting the election is the Veep, I'll focus there. I don't see what Richardson brings to the table. As a VP, yeah, he might be great. But it's the election that counts now and Richardson was very weak as a candidate and I don't think Obama wants someone who needs training wheels.

That said, other than excluding HRC, I don't know of a good person for the slot.

If the Edwards rumor proves to be just that, then I'd prefer him as AG. If his small head ran his big head, he's history.
 
SezMe said:
Since the only pick that has any chance of affecting the election is the Veep, I'll focus there. I don't see what Richardson brings to the table. As a VP, yeah, he might be great. But it's the election that counts now and Richardson was very weak as a candidate and I don't think Obama wants someone who needs training wheels.

That said, other than excluding HRC, I don't know of a good person for the slot.

If the Edwards rumor proves to be just that, then I'd prefer him as AG. If his small head ran his big head, he's history.
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You may be right. In fact, I was thinking of switching Biden and Richardson around as VP and Sec. of State-and that outcome seems more likely, anyway.
 
Update:After more thought, here's my revised list

Vice President: Tim Kaine
Secretary of State: Bill Richardson
Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates
Secretary of Commerce: Bobby Rush
Attorney General: Ed Rendell or John Edwards
Secretary of Agriculture: Bruce Babbitt
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Patty Murray
Secretary of Transportation: Christopher Ward
Secretary of Labor: William Gould
Secretary of Education: Mark Yudof
Secretary of the Treasury: Michael Bloomberg
Secretary of Energy: Ted Kulongski
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Jim Ramstad
Secretary of the Interior: Mark Gearan
Secretary of Veterans' Affairs: Jim Webb
 
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Babbitt's something of an antiquity; I could see him over at EPA (because he's currently head of the World Wildlife Fund), but not at Agriculture.

Let me suggest an extremely likely candidate for AG: Janet Napolitano. Two-time governor, term-limited out. Prior US attorney and Arizona Attorney General. Savvy and just conservative enough on issues like immigration to get through confirmation. She's, ahem, a single woman, which is part of the reason why she's not going to be veep (the other of course is that she's from Arizona, which Obama has to write off).

I absolutely think Obama will put her in a major slot.

Of course, if McCain wins, she'll be running for his Senate seat.
 
Secretary of Commerce: Bobby Rush
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What experience does Bobby Rush have in commerce? I know he was a former Black Panther. Is his commerce experience in the trafficking of drugs and weapons?
 
Allen773 said:
Update:After more thought, here's my revised list

Vice President: Tim Kaine
Secretary of State: Bill Richardson
Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates
Secretary of Commerce: Bobby Rush
Attorney General: Ed Rendell or John Edwards
Secretary of Agriculture: Bruce Babbitt
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Patty Murray
Secretary of Transportation: Christopher Ward
Secretary of Labor: William Gould
Secretary of Education: Mark Yudof
Secretary of the Treasury: Michael Bloomberg
Secretary of Energy: Ted Kulongski
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Jim Ramstad
Secretary of the Interior: Mark Gearan
Secretary of Veterans' Affairs: Jim Webb
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I think it would be a good idea to keep Robert Gates at Defense. Mike Bloomberg as Treasury Sec? That probably would be a step down for him. Also the same for Jim Webb, a step down.
 
MaGZ said:
What experience does Bobby Rush have in commerce? I know he was a former Black Panther. Is his commerce experience in the trafficking of drugs and weapons?
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Actually, I think Olympia Snowe would be better.

Bobby Rush might be seen as pandering to the black vote.
 
My revised list

Vice President: Tim Kaine
Secretary of State: Bill Richardson
Secretary of Defense: Jack Reed
Secretary of Commerce: Olympia Snowe
Attorney General: Janet Napolitano
Secretary of Agriculture: Daniel J. Gustafson
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Mike Huckabee
Secretary of Transportation: Christopher Ward
Secretary of Labor: William Gould
Secretary of Education: Mark Yudof
Secretary of the Treasury: Michael Bloomberg
Secretary of Energy: Ted Kulongski
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Jim Ramstad
Secretary of the Interior: Mark Gearan
Secretary of Veterans' Affairs: Jim Webb
 
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Some of your casting is too obvious. Go for some more surprising decisions! I think Secretary of Transportation, for example, would be a challenging yet rewarding role for Bloomberg.
 
chipmunk stew said:
I think the point about the sitting Senators is that the Democrats may not want to leave so many seats open and vulnerable, just when they have secured such a solid majority.
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Not to mention that being a Senator actually is a higher and more powerful position in many ways then being a Department head in DC,and some of the named senators will not give up their seats .
 
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