A Cabinet for McCain
Posted by Brandon Crow on 01.30.2008
What would the cabinet (ok, the top five spots in one anyway) for John McCain look like?
Now that John McCain has edged out Mitt Romney to win Florida's primary, many pundits and other talking heads are hyping McCain as the inevitable Republican nominee. And quite honestly, this may be the case.
Assuming McCain s the nominee, he would have an excellent chance of winning the general election, despite what the national polls may say. He would be the one Republican who can beat Hillary Clinton; he could also realistically beat Barack Obama, again, despite the polls. McCain has innumerable experience and invaluable knowledge on foreign policy and defense issues that may play well with voters still.
Like it or not, McCain will be a very formidable opponent for whomever the Democrats put up. And regardless of Clinton or Obama, Senator John McCain could very well be President John McCain come November.
Given this, I started to toy with the idea of a McCain Administration. Here's what I came up with in terms of the top five positions in importance and influence.
What a McCain Administration Could Look Like:
President: John McCain
Vice President: Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback (Kansas Senator), Tom Coburn (Oklahoma Senator), Bob Corker (Tennessee Senator).
Secretary of State: Joe Lieberman (Independent from Connecticut), Chuck Hagel (Nebraska Senator), Nancy Boyda (Kansas Congresswoman)
Secretary of Defense: Joe Lieberman, Terry Everett (Alabama Congressman), any number of retired generals who have backed McCain, maybe even General Eric Shinseki.
For Vice President, if McCain decides to select one of his presidential primary opponents, I think the most likely choice would be Mike Huckabee. Huckabee is likeable, down-home, easy with humor (all things McCain is not quite known for), and of course, accepted by the almighty religious right. He could really be a solid VP choice for McCain. If McCain decides to look elsewhere, his most likely pick would be Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. Coburn is a proven conservative, and McCain, even though he himself is from Arizona, will look for someone from the midwest and/or south to round out the ticket.
For Secretary of State, I think McCain will go with someone who is more of a diplomat, more worldly and cosmopolitan. I wouldn't be surprised to see Joe Lieberman rewarded for his across-party-line endorsement of McCain. But then again, it's tough to beat Republican stalwart Chuck Hagel. Hagel, though he broke from Bush on Iraq, and would be breaking from McCain on Iraq, is still well-liked and well-respected by many Republicans as well as Democrats. He would be ideal for Secretary of State under McCain. If McCain wants to show some diversity in his cabinet, he may opt for Kansas Congresswoman Nancy Boyda. His best move? Hagel all the way.
For Secretary of Defense, I think uber-hawkish Democrat Joe Lieberman must be considered again. I think it's safe to say that if McCain wins, Lieberman will be offered a cabinet position somewhere, both as reward and as a gesture of reaching across the aisle. Lieberman would probably make a better Secretary of Defense than State. But if McCain wants more ethnic and broader support, he may opt to run with Shinseki. In the end, it'll be Lieberman.
For Attorney General, I see two very likely choices: Rudy Giuliani, who is endorsing McCain today, and of course, Mel Martinez, Senator from Florida, who was also Bush' Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Being Cuban American doesn't hurt Martinez' chances either. If Giulinai is the Attorney General, I would be scared out of my mind. He would be more conservative than Ashcroft and infinitely more hawkish and dishonest than Gonzales. McCain would be smart to go with Martinez.
What do you think of this cabinet as the core of a McCain administration? Do you have other/better suggestions? Let me know.
Thanks for reading. It feels awesome to write my first "Murmur of Crow" in nearly eight or nine months. I hope to write more, if I'm able to find the time between my teaching load, my institutional leadership duties, as well as the fact that the old Crow is about to become a father in less than two months!
If you guys like this model of envisioning possible administrations for the current candidates, let me know and I'll try to put together some more of them.
Till next time, be good, go vote, and count the days till Bush is out of office! By the way, in case anyone was wondering, counting today (1/30/08), it's 354 days left!
I think Mike Huckabee would become Vice-President and Joe Lieberman, the Defense Secretary. Rudy Guiliani as Attorney General would scare me too; Rudy would instead make a terrific Homeland Secretary. A Fred Thompson endorsement has the possibility of reserving the Attorney General's chair. What I'm not sure about, is who'd be Secretary of State, and also how McCain's big buddy Lindsey Graham would be accomodated.
Posted By: RVI (Guest) on January 30, 2008 at 08:02 AM
I like most of your choices, but I'd put Mel Martinez into the VP slot because of his status as Cuban-American.
Rudy for Homeland Security, Huckabee to HUD or the OMB (where he could work on the flat tax), Thompson for Justice would be fine.
~Paul
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on January 30, 2008 at 06:27 PM
First off Mel Martinez wasn't born in the U.S., but I think Rice could be a great VP against Obama or Clinton, I think Lieberman for Sec. of State, General Petraeus for Sec. of Defense and Giuliani as Attorney's General.
Posted By: Paul T. (Guest) on January 31, 2008 at 02:18 AM
Obvious choice for VP would be Colin Powell. Huckabee could be a good labor secretary candidate, and Rudy makes sense as Atty General. Can't see Lieberman at State...we need to have a lot of diplomacy with muslim countries, and like it or not, they're not going to trust anyone Jewish.
Posted By: Mike (Guest) on February 06, 2008 at 03:30 PM
Florida Governor Crist seems like a strong VP candidate.
I think McCain would nominate his friend Warren Rudman, a moderate with a reputation as tough investigator, to a top position--most likely either Attorney General or Homeland Security.
SC Senator Lindsey Graham, a top McCain supporter and longtime military lawyer and judge, seems like another likely AG candidate. Lieberman, to me, seems more likely for Homeland Security than for State or Defense, because he heads the committee that proposed and oversees HS.
I think McCain would probably like to appoint his friend Richard Armitage as Secretary of State or Defense, but his confirmation hearing would probably center on his outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. Maybe he can be national Security Adviser instead.
Those retired generals are, by statute, ineligible for the Defense job until they're been retired for ten years. I wonder if there would a job for Clinton Defense Secretary Cohen; I understand that he was the best man and McCain's wedding.
Posted By: Brian (Guest) on February 09, 2008 at 10:36 AM
McCAIN- COBURN 2008 , Dr. Tom Coburn has best healthcare Plan in America SENATE BILL S1019 - WILL TRUMP HILLARYCARE and tax and spend Obamacare next November , and DR. COBURN CREATED JOBS in his optical company and can fix our economy
Posted By: CanDoc (Guest) on February 10, 2008 at 01:58 AM
STAY CURRENT