What A President Obama's Cabinet Might Look Like?

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Shortly, voters will elect the 44th President of the United States. If they chose Barack Obama (D), Democrats would take back government after an eight year absence. So, what might an Obama-Biden cabinet look like?

Here is one Democrat's assessment of who might be seated around the Cabinet Room table shortly after January 20, 2009 if Obama is elected president, based on my knowledge of the various players in Democratic circles, the people who currently advise Obama and who appear as campaign surrogates, and a review of other similar assessments of who might tapped for a possible Obama administration post.

(Note: Here's an update to this post with official leaked names of who are being considered for an Obama Cabinet.)

President: Barack Obama
Vice President: Joe Biden
State: Bill Richardson, Richard Lugar, Greg Craig, John Kerry, Sam Nunn
Treasury: Sheila Bair, Timothy Geithner, Eugene Ludwig, Laura Tyson
Defense: Chuck Hagel, Robert Gates, Jack Reed, Richard Danzig
Attorney General: Janet Napolitano, Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton, Artur Davis
Homeland Security: Lee Hamilton, Tony Lake, Richard Clarke, Tim Roemer
National Security: Anthony Zinni, Greg Craig, Samantha Power, Susan Rice
Agriculture: Tom Vilsack, Colin Peterson, Tom Daschle, Jim Leach
Commerce: Kathleen Sebelius, Ed Rendell, Penny Pritzker, Olympia Snowe
Education:George Miller, Tim Kaine, Linda Darling-Hammond, Joel Klein
Energy: Brian Schweitzer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jeff Bingaman
HHS:Howard Dean, Hillary Clinton, Julie Gerberding, John Kitzhaber
HUD: Shaun Donovan, Shirley Franklin, Jesse Jackson, Jr., David Gottfried
Interior: Lincoln Chafee, Christine Gregoire, Brian Schweitzer, RFK Jr.
Labor: David Bonior, Dick Gephardt,Dan Tarullo, Linda Chavez-Thompson
Transportation: James Oberstar, Ed Rendell, Earl Blumenauer, R.T. Rybak
VA: Chet Edwards, Max Cleland, Patrick Murphy, Tammy Duckworth
UN Secretary: Susan Rice, Caroline Kennedy, Lee Hamilton
EPA: Kathleen McGinty, Ed Markey, Mary Nichols, Lincoln Chafee
Council of Economic Advisers: Austan Goolsbee, David Cutler
Chief of Staff: Tom Daschle, Greg Craig, David Plouffe
Supreme Court nominee (when available): Cass Sunstein, Hillary Clinton

Mark Nickolas is the Managing Editor of Political Base, and this story was from his original post, "President Obama's Cabinet (Version 3.0)."

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Comments

[romanwinters]

09:47 AM on 10/28/2008

I'd be disappointed if he picked a bunch of politicians for his cabinet. There is so much more talented people out there-vivacious, bright, creative, honest people with diverse backgrounds. I went to BYU and I could pick a team from the Provo/Orem/ area alone(centrists and liberals to non ideologues) that would blow any team full of washington politicians away. And Obama has the entire nation/world to choose from. The cabinet team needs vivacious talent and chemistry.

[delmar12054]

09:23 PM on 10/28/2008

How about Patrick Fitzgerald as either AG or FBI director???

[DemocratTravis]

01:23 AM on 10/28/2008

Bill White, the Mayor of Houston, has to be on Obama's short list for Energy. He was the number two during the Clinton years.

[Ugobaby86]

08:47 AM on 10/27/2008

How about RFK jr. for EPA

[InaTizzy]

04:40 PM on 10/18/2008

I love Wesley Clarke as Sec Def. He would be awesome. What about Al Gore as EPA Sec. I think he could really do some great work with that agency. I think Bill Richardson would be better back in the Energy Sec. spot. not state. State should be Colin Powell. I doubt he will do it but I think in the Obama administration he would really shine.

[rickshaw]

01:42 AM on 10/18/2008

Why isn't Corzine on the list for Treasury Sec.?

He's currently Gov. of NJ, which has been a bit of a struggle because of the legislature's reluctance to adopt his unpopular, yet creative and necessary, measures needed to balance the budget.
He's also the former CEO of Goldman, in it's pre-crazy leveraging days.

[tmorgan]

05:53 PM on 10/07/2008

I cannot see any holdovers from Bush's cabinet-- Obama appeals with this bipartisan message, but chiefly he needs to convey, with these selections, what kind of change he is going to bring to the White House. That being said, my thoughts on a few people/positions

I like Sam Nunn for State, his anti-nuclear warfare/proliferation stuff is great. And what about Obama asking Carter to do something--special envoy to the Middle East or something, he could be a ery valuable asset and would, i think, be willing?

I also like Obama putting Hagel in there somewhere, he is a classy, very well-liked Republican, that would work with democrats, but make sure that his opinions were taken into consideration-- a good guy for Obama to have around him

Another thought is offering the position of AG to Arlen Specter, he is a reasonably moderate republican, and has been a vocal critic of many of the Bush Administration's judiciary policies

Edwards killed his shot at AG with that stupid scandal (which infuriates me to no end-- such a silly issue), but I wonder if he could get a new post created that has to deal with poverty or something along those lines.

I would also like to see Gen. Clark in there too, "Defense" or elsewhere

[PaulCunningham]

03:17 AM on 10/09/2008

Warren Buffett 's name has as a possible Treasury Secretary.....I like a spot for Colin Powell if he is up to it....Bill Clinton as Secretary of State? Seriously, he may not want to do it, but he is one of the most qualified people for the job, and his name should be on the list. I love the idea of having Schwarzenegger and I know this may sound nuts, but what about McCain? Put him in a Truman type role to cut waste in government. I have hope that we can assemble a team of rivals who are open to consensus building to mend the rift between right and left that has truly polarized our country. We've had 8 years of polarizing government, creating two Americas, our best chance is a true leader who will not pander to party politics. If Obama brings in 4 or even 5 Republicans, it will be one of the boldest leadership moves in 40 years, (assuming he can win of course) in the meantime, it would be irresponsible not to think outside of the box. While some members of the GOP drive me up the wall.....lumping them into one mindset is an act of prejudice, and that kind of closed-minded thinking should be off the table. Our nation has a arrived at crossroads of crises; bold leadership with consensus building and compromise are important components needed to bring us back to where we belong.....

[Hopeington]

02:21 AM on 10/27/2008

I know I'm a little late getting to this article but...
I like your take on this, I don't know Reps well enough to say who should go where, but So many Reps were able to cross over and vote for Barack because they know
he is a man that will reach across the aisle and work for our nation as a whole.
I have great faith in Barack and Joe.
Lotta good ideas here, glad I found you folks.

[tbadger]

11:56 AM on 10/03/2008

Sec. Defense should be Gen. Wesley Clark (absolutely no holdover from shrub's cabinet!)
Attorney General should be Fitzpatrick (who prosecuted Scooter)
i agree adding in Chaffee, Hagel, Snowe or any other moderate republican.
i don't think Obama should take any Democrat that is already sitting in a government position, state or federal, because we need all of the muscle we can muster to right this ship. there are plenty of good progressives around to fill the cabinet. what about Harold Ford?

[Ralpo]

04:09 PM on 10/09/2008

Can't have Ftizpatrick as AG- Chicago power would never allow it. he'll be one of the first let go. Also, I'd rather see Hillary at State, she has all the connections and experience/ becomes VP in '12. Hagel would be better in Agriculture. Should target moderate republican senators from states with dem. govenors to boost power on the hill.

[jorge4u]

01:27 AM on 10/02/2008

I do like Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. I can see him in an Obama Cabinet in some capacity.

[TribunusPlebis]

11:53 PM on 10/01/2008

Mark Nikolas's picks for an Obama cabinet are a blend of good inside-baseball guesses but too-conventional wisdom. Chet Edwards at Veterans, Brian Schweitzer at Energy, David Bonior at Labor (and Cass Sunstein for the Supreme Court) reflect the right expertise or flair for innovation, or both. But Obama is not going to elevate longtime state or congressional pols to a Cabinet which he needs to be a source of creativity and public leadership capability. So Vilsack, Chafee, Hagel and Dean are non-starters; they've passed their political sell-by dates. Others without the bravura style and fresh leadership that are needed at a time of crisis across the board are Bill Richardson, George Miller, and James Oberstar -- all good men, but way too traditional. Also expect more gender and ethnic diversity in this Cabinet, and expect Sebelius to get a more prominent job than Commerce, Kaine to get Education or Attorney General, and someone that the world financial markets will take seriously at Treasury. Don't be surprised if a younger IT mogul ends up at Commerce, and a university president -- like Amy Gutmann of Penn -- is also tapped. And you can be sure that one or two prominent Chicagoans will be in it. Obama will want a few people around him who have his back.

[Mark Nickolas]

10:23 AM on 10/02/2008

I do think you're right and that Obama (if he wins) will surprise us with some of his picks and will go outside the box for several posts. But those can't really be predicted, so instead I tried to offer who among the more conventional picks we should be looking for. But your point is well made and sure to be right.

[trreducator]

06:55 PM on 10/01/2008

where did you get this information from?

[rcfoot]

06:43 PM on 10/01/2008

bi-partisanship...sorry

[rcfoot]

06:42 PM on 10/01/2008

Sec. of State: Colin Powell. Selection screams bi-parisanship. Vindication for the only dove in that flock of neo-con hawks. Yeah, he gave that bogus WMD speech at the UN, but how many times did you have to follow your boss's bone-headed orders? And I'm very sure his new boss wouldn't put him in that position.

[exit116]

11:51 PM on 10/05/2008

Agreed. Powell did not get a fair shot in Bush's administration, he resigned because of how hopeless the situation was and figured out quickly that no one was taking him seriously. His voice of reason was drowned out by neo-cons like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Bolton. That said he still dragged Bush & Co. kicking and screaming to the UN to give diplomacy a shot, didn't work but his heart was in the right place and he was simply outgunned. From what I saw in the CNN forum he's a realist, not a neo-con, and realism is the only credible foreign policy philosophy that there is.

[mikebell90]

02:43 AM on 10/16/2008

I agree, except I'd make him Sec. of Defense. Still a chance for redemption, still a position he is of course eminently qualified for.

[TheRoyalWe]

06:09 PM on 10/01/2008

Would Warren Buffett be a ridiculous choice for Treasury?

What about Jimmy?

[Obibrenner]

05:46 PM on 10/01/2008

It's too bad about John Edwards throwing away his political life for a cheap tawdry affair. He would have been my pick for Attorney General and eventually Supreme Court Justice.

[Bailey Reynolds]

04:44 PM on 10/01/2008

Its nice to see some (reasonable) Republicans could make the list. I definitely like Chuck Hagel for Sec. Defense. A choice like him (and others) would give Obama true bi-partisan cred.