As we wait for the most highly-anticipated inauguration in a generation, President-elect Barack Obama has demonstrated that he belongs in the Oval Office. His approval ratings have topped 70% in Gallup polls as he has put together a Cabinet that should provoke lively debates but it also will keep progressives worried about who's got Obama's ear.
Obama's choices for labor secretary and trade representative are a good example of the potential for creative tension: Organized labor applauded the selection of Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) as labor secretary. The daughter of immigrants, whose father worked at a battery recycling plant and was a member of the Teamsters union, Solis has been a steady pro-labor and progressive representative in four terms in the House from the Los Angeles area. She took a leadership role in fights to help workers organize and bargain collectively, to reframe the trade debate and to defend the rights of workers in the US and abroad during eight years of the most anti-labor administration in modern history. Solis has voted with the AFL-CIO labor federation 97% of the time since coming to Congress-which some Republicans think is an argument against her.
More troubling is Obama's choice of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk as trade representative. Kirk is a "free trader," a pro-business Democrat who supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and Permanent Normal Trade Relations for China but he opposed fast track for trade deals in an unsuccessful 2002 Senate race. Sure, he looked good against John Cornyn but now he will be responsible for implementing Obama's pledges to create a new trade and globalization policy for Americans.
Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers, said on Bill Moyers' Journal on PBS Jan. 9 that the nomination of Solis and Kirk shows Obama was serious when he says he wants to see people debate the issues. "Then he'll make the choice." But asked by Moyers if he was worried about that, Gerard replied, "Absolutely I'm worried about that."
In part I, we examined the initial cabinets of a couple administrations that took office from the other party, and whether or not sitting Senators and Governors were apparently willing to give up those posts to become Secretaries. As late as 1980, it was rare for sitting high office holders to surrender their independent power base posts for the task of serving under someone else. Under Bush 43 and now Obama, this has clearly changed as Senators and Governors line up for posts.
Inside, let's examine what might be behind this shift. The short version is simply that the Presidency has become so much more powerful, that being a Governor or Senator is to be in general less powerful than being Vice-President or in Cabinet.
Obviously mileage will vary. States vary considerably in size, so giving up the Governor's mansion in Vermont is hardly the same as doing so for Florida. Senators vary in power according to their role in the caucus and committee seating. Cabinet roles vary considerably too, from the heavy hitters of Defense and State to much lower profile and lower budget portfolios. So it shouldn't surprise us that the Senators who took spots in Obama's cabinet got powerful roles but were junior in the Senate, and the Governors who have joined were from medium states. Not sure what to make of Blagojevich's interest in a cabinet post, because Illinois is huge, but perhaps that was just the particular circumstances he was facing.
Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security: Matt seems excited about Napolitano, but I'm not. For one thing, and this may seem petty but it really isn't, a Republican will become Governor of Arizona
It turns out this is significant, and not really anything to do with Obama particularly. It is yet another sign of the Presidentialist, dominant federal government. The Executive now dominates the Legislative, and the Federal government now by far dominates the States.
by Zach Carter, Media Consortium MediaWire blogger
UPDATE: Friday afternoon, President-Elect Barack Obama confirmed the nomination of Rep. Hilda (D-Calif) for Secretary of Labor.
President-elect Barack Obama named Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., as the next administration's Secretary of Labor this morning. To put it simply, progressives are ecstatic about the pick.
It's finally official: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will be Barack Obama's Secretary of State.
Some observers thought Clinton was a curious pick because she made a point of differentiating her foreign policy views from Obama's during the Democratic primary.
After revealing that Obama and Hillary Clinton have met to discuss the Secretary of State position, the change team let out this release today:
"On Monday, President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will meet in Chicago at transition headquarters. It's well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality. They will be joined in the meeting by Senator Lindsey Graham and Congressman Rahm Emanuel."
Is there a cabinet position in play here? Is there some other kind of involvement that Obama will offer McCain in the Administration?
I find it very useful to think in terms of the "ideal". Since politics is typically a domain of horrendous compromise, it serves us well to imagine politics without compromise.
Barack Obama's election has given many people renewed hope in the future of this country and the world. I share some of that optimism, but am also gravely familiar with everything that could go wrong. We are already hearing various names that may be under consideration for Obama's cabinet. These names include Republicans such as Chuck Hagel, Dick Lugar, Robert Gates and Colin Powell. They also include members of Clinton's cabinet such as Robert Rubin and Larry Summers. This latter pair are directly responsible for much of the deregulation that occurred in the Clinton administration and which paved the way for the current financial crisis.
I hope these names are unfounded in reality, otherwise somebody ought to take Obama to one side and explain to him what "change" means. It certainly does not mean retaining elements of the Bush administration and the most culpable members of Clinton's cabinet.
In 1992, President-Elect Bill Clinton, our party's last President-Elect, set about the process of picking a cabinet and, to be honest, he made some great choices. However, it's hard to imagine, but in 1992, no one was blogging about their favorites, no one was watching the prediction markets, no one was emailing their friends, hell, cell phones were new and faxes came out of the machines on long rolls.
Steve Clemons puts out rumors about John Kerry being appointed Secretary of State.
The rumor is that McClatchy News is trying to report a story that should Barack Obama win the election, most of the key members of his Cabinet will be announced on Friday, November 7th.
And the two most likely candidates for the job of Secretary of State, according to the rumblings are. . . . .Senator John Kerry and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
