A Cabinet for Barack Obama

Posted by Brandon Crow on 07.08.2008

What would an Obama cabinet look like?

After much contention and constant sniping back and forth, the bruising Democratic primary process between finalists Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama finally came to a definitive, if uneasy, end about a month ago. Throughout the entire process, I had been composing cabinets for potential presidential candidates in both parties. As Republican John McCain cinched his party's nomination rather quickly, back on January 30th, I posted a column on a possible cabinet for McCain.

Then I took a break of some length while Clinton and Obama played punching pugilists. On March 6th, after Clinton won big in Texas and Ohio, two contests she had to win to stay relevant, I posted a congratulatory column to her and roughed out Clinton's potential cabinet.

When that column posted, I got quite a few reponses asking me when I would finally put one together for Obama. Well, now that there is no doubt who the Democratic nominee is, here is a potential cabinet for Barack Obama...


President: Barack Obama

Vice President: former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, former Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, and former Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia.

Secretary of State: Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Colin Powell.

Secretary of Defense: Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, Sam Nunn, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Representative Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas and Senator Daniel Akaka of Hawaii.

Attorney General: John Edwards.

Two additional cabinet positions that I did not cover with either McCain or Clinton:

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Hillary Clinton.

Secretary of Education: American Federation of Teachers President Edward McElroy.

Best Choices:

For Vice President, Obama can go in many directions, depending on what he/his campaign feels is the most beneficial to his presidential chances. If he wants to combat his image of "inexperience," then it would seem Richardson, Clinton and Nunn would have the inside track. If he's looking to shore up some possible swing states, then Sebelius from KS and Stickland from OH, and again, Nunn of GA and Richardson of NM come into play.

If Obama believes he needs to reinforce his "change" theme, then look for Sebelius, Richardson or Edwards. His overall best selection however, would be either Sebelius or Richardson. Sebelius would demonstrate to women who are still favoring Clinton that a woman's time has arrived; sure, it's not the presidency this time, but in eight years, it can be. Besides, Sebelius' resume is mighty impressive: eight years as a state representative, eight years as insurance commissioner, governor since 2003, and in 2005, named one of the top five governors in the nation.

Richardson is perhaps the best choice to hit the ground running. Outside of Senator Joe Biden, Obama (and America) would be hard pressed to find someone with the depth and breadth of experience that Richardson would bring—executive experience, congressional experience, plus he's been Secretary of Energy under Bill Clinton, as well as negotiated with foreign heads of state for hostage release. And of course, his crucial southwestern connection and his Latino heritage could help boost Obama to the White House.

In the long and short run, perhaps the most important cabinet decision for Obama to make is the position of Secretary of State. With Bush & Co. having so thoroughly polluted and corroded America's image in the world, Obama's SOS will have to bring instant credibility and engender automatic trust from the world community that this is indeed, a new America. If Richardson is not tapped for VP, he would make an excellent SOS. Biden would be formidable as well. Rumors from inside the Obama camp is that Biden is on the list of elite eight for VP, but I think his talents would be wasted there. Biden would make a much better SOS; in fact, he'd be amazing.

The long shot candidate here would be Colin Powell. But if Obama wants to show he can work across the aisle, a reappointment of Powell would certainly seal the deal. Powell, despite Bush and Cheney's best efforts to bury and discredit him, is still popular among Republicans, and if given the proper chance to truly be himself, can regain the admiration of Democrats and independents. Given a real opportunity to work that position the way he wants to, Powell would do a phenomenal job. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing either Biden or Powell in that role. I would trust both.

For Secretary of Defense, any of the four mentioned above would serve well. Again, if Biden is not VP or SOS, he could easily be SOD due to his incredible knowledge of and experience with foreign affairs and the armed services. Biden is the most versatile player in the game right now, so it's safe to assume he'll end up with a job in the Obama administration; it just depends where Obama feels he can do the most good. Nunn, like Biden, if not the VP will carry come considerable weight in the office of SOD. Though retired for over a decade, Nunn was Biden before Biden. Former presidential nominee Kerry would also be a good choice. The man is intelligent, knowledgeable, curious, studious, patriotic, and a quick study. If he hadn't been so awfully (yet effectively) smeared by those Swiftboaters (with the full backing of Bush and Rove), he'd be running for reelection right now. A solid, smear-free stint as SOD would take some of the tarnish off this man.

And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't highlight little-known Senator Daniel Akaka from Hawaii. He would be an Asian face in a prominent cabinet post, and could earn Obama some Asian American votes (which normally goes Republican). I know the Asian American youth are looking for some political role models and this appointment could potentially swing a generation of Asian Americans to vote Democratic for a long time. However, Akaka would not be some "vanity" or "political" appointment. He is extremely qualified. Let me reiterate here what I said about him before: Akaka served active duty in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1943 to 1947. Also, he was elected to the U.S. House in 1976 and later was appointed to the Senate when Senator Spark Matsunaga passed away. According to his website, he won reelection in 1990, 1994, 2000, and 2006." Akaka is currently the Chairman of the Veteran's Affairs Committee, the Armed Services committee, and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittees. This man is clearly ready to go.

Next, the position of Secretary of Homeland Security. This was a position that seemed extremely necessary in the days after 9/11, but with each passing year and with each Bush blunder or outright Rove political scheme, this office seems to be more and more diminished. It might have served some real purpose, but at this stage of the game, it's become obvious this Secretary is just another pawn in the Rovian games.

I think it would be refreshing for Obama to abolish the cabinet position. This would free up a lot of red tape and trim government—a favorite Republican move. Obama would earn huge points for cutting unnecessary excess in the federal government. He could simply assign a "Security Czar" to oversee communication between all the different federal agencies doing this type of work, such as the FBI, CIA and NSA. A whole department is not necessary to serve as nothing more than just a net to hold other nets.

However, if Obama deems this position necessary, and wants to reinvigorate it, he could look at a number of people to fill the post. Bennie Thompson is the current chairman of the House committee on Homeland Security. He could easily shift over to being SOHS. Along with a potential Powell appointment, Thompson could make it three African Americans in prominent roles of the US government. However, if Obama feels that three African Americans is too much for deep south and Appalachia America, he may want to skip over Thompson and dig a little deeper into the House committee and procure either Jim Langevin or Henry Cuellar.

Langevin would be an apt choice for this role as he is currently the chair of the subcommittee on emerging threats, cybersecurity, science and technology. If terrorists are to hit us again, there is a good chance that they aim for cyberspace and all things tech related. We've become so dependent on technology that a critical blow to these infrastructures would cripple not just our financial and political districts, but our everyday lives. The likelihood of terrorists looking to implode a few more buildings, to me, seem minute. They'd do more damage this time by hitting our technology infrastructures.

Another viable subcommittee chair would be Cuellar. He oversees the subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response. After the disaster that was Katrina (and here, I'm talking about FEMA'S response, not the natural one), someone who understands emergency communications and response would be pivotal. Besides his current role, Cuellar is a popular Latino politician from Texas, a state that Obama and Democrats would be wise in trying to swing back to the Democratic column. Cuellar's accomplishments: Dallas Morning News called him "one of the seven best legislators." The San Antonio Express-News called someone who "has worked and demonstrated an independent nonpartisan mindset…[with a] willingness to place his district ahead of his political party. He's won awards such as "Laredoan of the Year," "Distinguished Citizen of the Year," and "Humanitarian of the Year." Cuellar is all about service and a deviation from Washington politics.

For Attorney General, there is really only one choice—John Edwards. As a former trial lawyer who stood up for "little people," he would be great in this role. After the farce that was Alberto Gonzales, we really need someone like Edwards to repair the post and return it to past glories. Not to mention actually uphold and protect the Constitution as opposed to looking for loopholes or outright shredding it. If Obama wins, Edwards becoming AG seems a lock.

Now, the two positions unique to my discussion of Obama's cabinet:

Due to the fact that Clinton came so close to winning the nomination, and the fact that she did rightly proclaim she had the support of 18 million voters, Obama would be wise to make some form of peace with her. Though she will certainly not be tapped for VP, she should hold a useful and vital cabinet position. What better for Hillary than to be Secretary of Health and Human Services? Her biggest claim to fame (good or bad depends) is her 1996 "HillaryCare." Universal health care was still a centerpiece of her recent presidential campaign. In this position, Clinton could thrive, revamp her image, and if successful in delivering universal health care, have one amazing, political notch on her belt for 2016.

And lastly, a position that is near and dear to my heart. As an instructor in higher education for nearly 15 years, I've watched SOE after SOE come and go with no noticeable change to the educational landscape. For all the presidents who promised they would be the "Edcucation President," Obama has a real chance to actually wear the moniker.

McElroy would be ideal as he is president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers. Prior to his election as AFT president in 2004, McElroy served 12 years as AFT secretary-treasurer. It's time we got serious about education. It's a hoax to put business people or school officials who run schools from the administration/managerial side in this position because they are not the people on the ground.

Most management people are numbers people; they make decisions based on money and profits, not necessarily academic needs. Unless there is a strong union on campus, or a powerful culture of faculty activism, these administrators run campuses like corporations, with a top-down mentality and a specious drive to run for the bottom line. Schools become more like savings and loans than educational facilities. Putting a faculty union president (and not just any small local union president, but the president of the AFT) in charge of running the Dept. of Education would ensure many improvements, chief among them: better salaries and benefits for the fine people teaching our children; more day-to-day contact and face time with faculty and students, the two chief constituents in schools. Faculty and student needs will likely be prioritized and addressed as opposed to shoveling extra funds into phantom reserve accounts for pet projects of administrators, and the perennial favorite--annual raises for administrators and/or improved benefits for school/District board members.

So there are some of my ideas for an Obama cabinet. Let me know what you think.

In Crow We Trust.