Why Obama Should Announce Key Cabinet Members When He Announces His VP Choice

There's been this ongoing allusion to Lincoln, from the beginning. Barack announced in Springfield, Illinois remember -- and he referenced Doris Kearns Goodwin's book about Lincoln's Team of Rivals in at least one discussion of why Hillary would be seriously considered for VP.

How about Hillary for Secretary of State or even Defense? She's done serious work on the Armed Services Committee and earned a lot of credibility at the Pentagon. And talk about breaking glass ceilings. Picture the stage with some of the other rivals all standing together with Hillary and Barack. John Edwards for Attorney General? Biden at State. Or maybe Richard Lugar? Dodd (if he recovers from his VIP Countrywide mortgage) at Treasury. Richardson at Interior. Rendell at Labor. Work Chuck Hegel in for something that has nothing to do with abortion rights. Maybe Arlen Specter for Attorney General and shift Edwards to HUD to serve his poverty cause? Jim Webb for national security advisor?

The details aren't the point. The point is that Obama runs as the head of a slate, an administration with a profile that crosses party lines and creates a team of rivals for real. The positive impact of this move might be tremendous, and what's the downside? It would certainly throw McCain for a loop, neutralize the whole experience issue at a stroke, and actualize the theme of a new kind of politics without looking reckless. Most of all it would take the exclusive focus off Obama as the campaign heats up and all that latent racism out there starts to kick in -- and don't kid yourself, it will, it will.

Putting Obama at the center of a team of rivals, all of them familiar, even venerable, pieces of political furniture in everybody's mind -- nothing would do more to dampen the he's-not-one-of-us factor that is, in the last analysis, still the greatest danger Obama faces.

Comments

[OtayPanky]

You couldn't be more wrong.

Before the election, the right wing smear machine is going to be looking for any dirt they can find on anyone directly associated with an Obama administration.

(Not that the dems are much better, really).

But the point is - prior to the election, any pick of Obama's needs to go through the most stringent vetting process, a process which would potentially weed out perfectly good candidates. For example, Joe Biden has that plagiarism thing in his background. It's ages ago, but if he was picked now, either for VP or a cabinet post, you can bet you'd be hearing about it ad nauseum from the increasingly desperate Fox News/Rush Limbaugh types.

Barack doesn't need that kind of noise dominating precious news cycles right now.

[fiftyseven]

Sorry, but the tone of your message seems to denigrate Obama, though I'm sure that is not what you meant. ("Will you like me better if I surround myself with white people?") I also think that putting "stars" in those positions, particularly career politicians, is mere pandering. I am very interested to know whom Obama would choose to advise him, after seeing the effects of Bush's unfortunate selections, and my hope is that Obama will return to what got my ear in the first place -- his passion for doing the right thing without selling out.

[mom2sons]

Whatever he does, it should be people who are ethical and haven't or can't be bought. Hopefully he will bring the O-Team first. They've done a heckuva job! LOL

[BassMent]

Leaving aside possible picks for the various posts, I have always wondered why candidates don't come out and say before the general election who they're going to appoint. It would take some work (gotta meet with all of these people and make sure they want the jobs)... and as someone else pointed out in a comment, you don't want to do it TOO FAR ahead of election day, because it gives your opponent an opportunity to start launching attack ads against your cabinet as well as yourself.

But overall, I have always thought this would be a sensible idea. Let people know what kind of team you'll be assembling... and in Obama's case, reassure the more ignorant of our citizenry that you're not going to pack your administration with Black Panthers or Muslim clerics.

[GarthR]

Cabinet members could be proposed tentatively, one every week or two, before a VP is selected. It would be a means keeping media more focused on the issues the campaign is addressing at that time. It would also allow pre-vetting the administration by the media (dumping the ones that are too much baggage, when it is less painful). As tentative Cabinet members, these people would also have greater clout as surrogates. I like Wes Clark as Secretary of Defense, since he has a stronger association with soldiers than major weapons systems, and his campaigning has exposed him to non-defense priorites.

[AnnaList]

I think Obama will roll-out his cabinet in Denver. I haven't settled on who should fill which position yet, but in any case, when they are named, everyone can spread out and hit the ground running.

[Zogtastic]

I agree, I want to see his cabinet selections too. I've thought of Edwards for HUD would be a good idea. And I would definitely like to see Hagel in their somewhere.

But lets spread out the announcements. Take up as many news days as we can. Be in the news for a whole week instead of pound it all into one day.

[obamagirl1968]

There are many upsides but the downside is that his entire cabinet becomes election fodder. The Repugnicans will have more time to throw stones at not just him but the people he surrounds himself with. Confirmation hearings are bad enough for a sitting president let alone a nominee.

[TrueIndy08]

Well... I say Mr. OBama, if I may throw in my two cents....

VP: Wes Clark
Sec of State: HRC
Sec of Defense: Jim Webb



The rest... whatever!!! But please, get a really good, knowledgeable Sec of Education bc our sytems have been hurt badly by this idiotic No Child Left Behind debacle.... as a teacher, I am pleading that we fix this nonsense!

[afrographia]

this is a fun game, but so few of us are experts on some of the different cabinet areas. For example, education is my field (I'm a professor). I heard a rumor that Obama may be being advised by Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University. An expert on education policy, she is widely respected, an African American, but not famous enough to make our lists here. However, for us in education, she is a star.

[westwind]

The best reason for doing this is to have a nominal administration in place should there be an situation such as there was in Florida in 2000.

Given the ideological bias of the Supreme Court, perhaps that 2000 decision would have gone the way it did anyway, but the court hung most of their reasoning on the fact that Bush was the presumptive winner not only because he was marginally ahead in the (Florida) vote count, but that he already had most of his intended cabinet together, and that they were already preparing and planning the work of the administration.

Al Gore was out there alone with Turncoat Lieberman, focused on recounts rather than playing to the courts or public opinion, and while in a fair system there would have been nothing wrong with this, he did not realize the PR advantages of what the Bush team was doing.

There are bound to be downsides to Obama naming his cabinet early -- for one thing, as another commenter has noted, it presents a broader range of targets for attack -- but it would help guard against a decision similar to Bush vs. Gore going against him.

[ssb752]

No way. Bad idea. Give the slime machine and the media too many details for too much scrutiny. After all, the devil is in those details. Rarely do people vote FOR someone, it's usually AGAINST. Sure, let it be known that you promise a bi-partisan cabinet. That would be ideal to many of us who are non partisan. Obama needs to ultimately keep his options open, however.

[ScroogeandMarleyLLC]

It would probably be a good move for Obama. After all, Lincoln chose three men who despised him at first (Seward, Sumner and Stanton) yet they became utterly loyal towers of strength for him during the Civil War.

[profmsf]

I agree with your idea. Everyone knows what we will get with McCain - more of the same. Obama needs to let people know that while it will not be the same, it will be something in which they can have confidence. (Memo to hard core Dems and Obama supporters - this is about the general election now, i.e. getting independent voters to vote for Barack). We don't need a whole shadow cabinet - that would just create a lot of distractions and potential for irrelevant tabloid headlines if it turns out that the shadow Secretary of Whatever once had an addition to Dungeons and Dragons or something equally meaningless but tittilating. Keep the list short. My preferences are:

State - Richardson
Defense - Hagel
AG - Edwards

[DavidMG]

Wow. This is fun

Hillary HUD
Bill UN
Biden State
Edwards AJ
Webb Nat Security

and
Clark VP

[TexasDem0]

Good lineup. Add Anthony Zinni for Sec. of Defense.
Was that Bill Clinton, or Bill Richardson for UN?
I prefer Gov. Richardson.