The Post-Election Fantasy Draft
a few revisions to help Obama stock his cabinet
2008-11-12
By Eric Easter

Election results are in: A President-elect and Vice President are in place, as is the White House Chief of Staff. That, plus the shake-out from the campaign season signals time for our political pundits Eric Easter, Brian Gilmore and Monroe Anderson to reassess their cabinet picks of six months ago. All things being equal, most of the picks were based on sound reasoning, so revisions should be few and defensible. (Note the judicious use of the term “should.”)

First up, Eric Easter:

Vice President – Jim Webb (D-VA) 
or Mark Warner

NOW THAT WE KNOW:
OK. OK, I was way off on this one. He didn’t pick either man, and Mark Warner is now the Senator from Virginia. But considering that Virginia put Obama over the top, expect Jim Webb and Governor Tim Kaine to wield serious White House influence, and this probably puts Kaine in particular in play for a cabinet seat. Tim Kaine at HHS perhaps?

Department of Energy – Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Because of the importance of energy to America’s future in this new global green environment, this is where Obama makes up for beating Hillary by placing a prominent woman in this office and elevating it to a higher status at his right hand. The governor of a Western state makes perfect sense.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE:  I’m sticking with this pick.

Secretary of State – Bill Richardson 

POST-ELECTION UPDATE: Richardson took a big risk with his endorsement and probably deserves something to reward him and acknowledge the Hispanic vote. But, I’m not so sure on this one anymore. John Kerry is lobbying for the position, but as someone said recently, nobody likes John Kerry, which is why he did not win in 2004. Not the best calling card for a diplomat. Obama may surprise us here.

U.N. Ambassador – Al Gore

Secretary of State would get Gore too deep into the partisan trenches. He likes his freedom and any major screw-ups could tarnish his Nobel standing. If it is re-elevated to a cabinet level position, UN Ambassador would give Al Gore a more formal global platform as the voice of a more open, greener America.
If not this position, expect some newly created gig as a roving Ambassador in charge of Global Energy Innovation.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE: People are floating Caroline Kennedy’s name. A nice thought, but I like this pick whether or not it happens.

Department of Agriculture - 
I’m not sure I have a specific individual here, but it’s time for Agriculture to have an entrepreneur and not a paper-pusher in this role. It needs to be a Black business person who is intimately familiar with Black farmers or a Hispanic familiar with real farm workers to send a message to this notorious bastion of good old boy politics that it’ s a new world.

Secretary of Defense – Chuck Hagel 

This puts a moderate Republican in charge of the war machine, giving some measure of political cover when Obama withdraws troops from Iraq or moves more forcefully on Bin Laden in Pakistan.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE:  No change here.

National Security Advisor – Susan Rice

She’d be a great Secretary of State or UN Ambassador, but Obama will get much less of a honeymoon than others and politics will dictate that he throw this bone to someone more known to the Senate and Congress to assure confirmation. Like Condi, she’ll move to the big spot in Obama’s second term.

Secretary of Transportation – Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.

This rewards the Congressman for his work as a campaign chair and would be the formal  “thank you” to Illinois. It allows Jackson to push his Peotone airport efforts and deliver public transportation pork to the state, further cementing his platform as future Mayor of Chicago. It also opens up a congressional seat for Jackson’s wife to step into.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE: Rep. Jackson wants Obama’s Senate seat. There’s serious question if he’ll get it. Senior Democrats in Illinois doubt Jackson can win statewide. I’m not so sure about that. Still, I like my reasoning in my first choice.

Secretary of Commerce – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg 

Bloomberg’s knowledge of business and fondness for innovation makes him a great choice to shepherd American business into a more 21st century model for participating in the global economy. Give him the keys and let him run with it.
POST ELECTION UPDATE:  I still love this as a choice., but now I would also add Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons as a good bet.

Attorney General – John Edwards
Trial lawyer. Champion of the little guy. A natural.
POST ELECTION UPDATE: How far the mighty have fallen in just a few months. OK, that pick won’t happen.  In that case, I’d say Eric Holder is the odds-on favorite.

Department of Labor – Governor Ed Rendell

Another appeasement to Hillary supporters, this choice puts a man from a working class state in charge of symbolically carrying Clinton’s message about jobs.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE:  I don’t dislike my original choice, but now I think I would pick Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. It sends a symbolic signal to Detroit’s auto industry and the million people connected to that industry if it fails.

Office of National Drug Control Policy – Kurt Schmoke

The former Mayor of Baltimore in that city’s worst period of drug activity (and now Dean of Howard University’s Law School) had the bravery and foresight to say publicly that the drug issue is a health problem, not a problem of interdiction. He’s suffered for it ever since. Obama can reward him for the cojones he showed telling the truth and maybe we’ll have a policy that actually works.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE:  No change.

POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS
Outside the realm of the cabinet, Obama can get much more creative with political appointees and have a major impact. Here are some wild cards to consider:

Transparency Czar – Meg Whitman, CEO of EBay

Obama has mentioned creating a special position to design an effective single source method for the public to be informed of the daily machinations of government. The present system, Thomas.gov, is unwieldy and only used by DC insiders and policy wonks. We need a YouTube meets C-Span meets Facebook to completely open up the government process to public scrutiny.
Meg Whitman can pull Silicon Valley into the mix to jump start it.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE: I take this one back. This position, if it happens, needs someone whose name screams innovation and change. Whitman is a manager. I’d ask Marc Andreesen to step in.

Ambassador to Great Britain– Valerie Jarrett

As a mentor and trusted friend to both Barack and Michelle, Valerie Jarrett is more valuable outside of the daily bureaucracy of government and scrutiny of the press.
To that end, having Jarrett manage the relationship between the U.S. and its oldest and most trusted ally rewards Jarrett for her hard work, elevates her status to the international level, creates a vital contact for African American entrepreneurs wanting to do business in Europe and protects her from partisan politics so she can remain valuable to Obama as an unrestrained advisor.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE – While I think this still would be a fine choice, word is out that Obama favors Jarrett for his vacated Senate seat, a surprising development. That’s not Obama’s choice to make, however. So as a safety, Caroline Kennedy would be a great choice.

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board – John Rogers of Ariel Capital

Ambassador to France – Sen. John Kerry

What could be a more perfect way for Kerry to spend his later years than overseeing this sometimes prickly relationship.
POST- ELECTION UPDATE: I’m still sticking to this. Kerry endorsed Obama early and often. He’s lobbying hard for State, but this would be the better fit.

Ambassador to China -  Richard Parsons (chairman, Time Warner) 

With his background in banking and media, Parsons provides the ideal background to be the point person for this critical relationship that will define America’s financial and industrial future.

Supreme Court Justice – Eric Holder

DC still won’t see statehood under President Obama (and neither will Puerto Rico) but choosing a DC resident as a Supreme will be an important gesture to the people of DC who will quickly realize that if they can’t get statehood with a Black president, it will probably never happen.
POST-ELECTION UPDATE: I’ll hold this for now, but I admit I was thinking politically the first time out and not considering Obama’s Harvard and Univeristy of Chicago roots. With that kind of scholarship in his background, the President-elect is probably more likely to go deeper into issues of judicial temperament and not into the friendship pool.

Ambassador to Haiti – Charles Rangel
People will call me crazy here, but with the hint of scandal still surrounding him, Rangel has been weakened somewhat. He needs a way out and this could be it. There is simply no excuse for having the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere so close to the United States. If President Obama wants to signal real change, a seriously aggressive posture to reshape the future of this nation would be one very unexpected way to do it.  This pick would give Rangel a graceful exit and create an opening for new blood in Harlem politics.

Eric Easter is Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing Co., Inc. He writes about politics, culture and technology for EbonyJet.com.