Obama Picks

The Obama Cabinet is shaping up fast and, similar to Clinton's experience in 1992, the left wing of the Democratic Party is screaming "betrayal."

It was largely this element of the Party that gave Obama his initial break. In 1992, they backed Clinton, only to find him moving toward the center following his election. Not wanting a repeat of 1992, they led the initial Obama surge to "Stop Hillary," on her way to her coronation as the Party standard bearer.

To some degree, our political party system guarantees this type of result for both Democrats and Republicans. McCain experienced a similar falling out of the Republican Party base, prior to his pick of Sara Palin.

Both Democratic and Republican Party activists tend toward the extremes of the political spectrum. Party work is, for the most part, built around volunteers who work for free (excluding the leadership) and it is difficult to motivate them with realistic political policies that have the support of the majority middle. A President that attempts to "govern" from the base is usually doomed to failure - i.e. George W. Bush.

The Left should not be terribly surprised; Obama emphasized during the latter part of the campaign that he intended to govern from the center and, thus far, his appointments seem to reinforce his campaign message. This, despite the likes of Fox's Hannity, Newt Gingrich, Dick Morris, et. al. who see a five percent increase in upper bracket taxes and a potential 10-15 percent increase in the capital gains tax as "socialism" or worse.

A word or two on the appointments to date.

Geithner as Secretary of Treasury. As President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, he has been close to Wall Street, without being part of Wall Street. And, presumably, he had a voice in allowing Lehman Brothers to fail. I suspect the Obama economic policies, aside from tax specifics, will be oriented toward increased regulation and oversight and a backing away from the march to globalization, without completely abandoning that goal. The Obama job goals and stress on "rebuilding the economy from the bottom up" and the resuscitation of the middle class, indicate to me that he will be moving away from an economy based on fees to one based on actual products. Although I haven't researched Geithner, it seems a good pick.

Daschle as Health and Human Services. I was initially skeptical about this one. I never considered Daschle as strong as he might have been in the Senate, as Minority Leader. Also, he has ties to the private health industry. But, after some thought, he makes sense. Obama's health plan builds on the distribution of health services through private industry, with essentially a mandate for universal coverage and assistance for those who cannot afford the premiums. Daschle's ties to the industry may actually be helpful.

Richardson as Commerce Secretary. At first glance this looks like a "downgrade" for Richardson, who is qualified for a more important cabinet position (such as Secretary of State or Energy). I was an early Richardson for President supporter before turning to Obama. The fact that he accepted the position may indicate one of two things (or both): he desperately wants to get back to Washington and/or Obama plans to elevate the importance of the Commerce Secretary position - particularly in trade negotiations, potential tariffs and new at home energy jobs - as he rebuilds a solid U.S. economy.

Clinton as Secretary of State - I wanted Richardson for this position, but it may be a smart Obama political move. Constitutionally, this position is the number three position in the cabinet, behind the President and Vice President. Prior to the constitutional amendment regarding presidential succession, the Secretary of State was second in line for the Presidency, should something happen to both the President and Vice President (today, that line runs directly to Congress, with the Speaker of the House in 3rd place). It also keeps Hillary (and presumably Bill) out of the country for much of the time and relatively removed from a domestic political base of their own; in the Senate, without much seniority, she would have ample time to build her 2012 or 2016 presidential campaign. Although she was most known for her own efforts in health care, Secretary of HHR is better suited for Daschle and the importance of Secretary of State befitting for someone who today is Democrat #2. I also presume that Obama intends to be his own Secretary of State, in regard to policy, which is his prerogative.

Gates at Defense - This one is rumored, but not called. It would not be a bad pick. Gates is a pragmatist and not an ideologue. One of Obama's goals is to return U.S. foreign and defense policy to one with bi-partisan support, which the country enjoyed for most of the Cold War. Another two years with Gates wouldn't be a bad choice.

Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security - Don't know much about her, other than she has apparently had a lot of success in controlling illegal immigration in Arizona, through both a border shutdown and employer responsibility approach. Homeland Security begins with border control and goes inward in terms of tracking legal immigrants, etc.

Eric Holder as Attorney General - Holder was Clinton's #2 at Justice when Janet Reno was Attorney General. Presume that major areas of concern for the new AG will be prosecution of terrorists, both the ones at Gitmo and the ones on Wall Street. If he works well with Clinton at State, Gates at Defense, and Geithner at Treasury he should be OK. And, where better to put another African-American than in the position of the nation's Top Cop.

More later.