Idle Cabinet Speculation

Man, CQ's cabinet predictions are depressing. Let's document the atrocities:

They put Hank Paulson and Bob Gates on both McCain's and Obama's potential cabinets in their current positions.

Joe Lieberman is on McCain's lists for both State and Defense.

Obama's list for State is Susan Rice (good), Richard Holbrooke (horrible), and Bill Richardson (WTF?).

Obama's list for Treasury includes the head of JPMorganChase. Like, for serious.

McCain's list for State includes James Woolsey, and his list for Attorney General includes Rudy Giuliani.

No, really, the two options for McCain's SecState are Joe Lieberman and James Woolsey. It's like choosing between drinking bleach or taking a shower in lye.

That said, there are some good things here. Rice would be a great pick for State, and would prove beyond any doubt that there's room in Foggy Bottom for black women with the last name Rice. The list for Obama's AG is fantastic; though Jamie Gorelick would be tough to get through the Senate after this, all three are great choices. I'd prefer Eric Holder, if only because (a) his views on the war on terror are awesome and (b) I met Artur Davis at TAP and came away from it convinced that he can and should kick the crap out of Richard Shelby come 2010.

I was surprised that Larry Summers isn't on the list for Treasury; he's been very present on the bailout issue, and clearly wants another chance. The visual of having the first Obama treasury secretary be the same person as the last Clinton Treasury secretary isn't ideal, but you could do a lot worse. I agree with CQ that Timothy Geithner is more likely, but personally I like the idea of bringing Summers back.

I'm still hoping for Richard Danzig at Defense, but Jack Reed - along with Gates the alternative to Danzig on CQ's list - wouldn't be half-bad. The only problem is that we'd lose a Senate seat in a state with a Republican governor. I'm sure whoever Donald Carcieri picked would lose to Pat Kennedy or James Langevin come 2010, but that's a whole Congress without a Democratic vote in that seat. That could make the difference on things like health care or energy legislation.

Comments

[Phil Jamison]

Please see this site for a saner discussion of cabinet posts: http://puredem.wordpress.com

[Greg Kuperberg]

So what can I do to get Obama to pick Moniz over Rendell as Energy Secretary?

[Greg Kuperberg]

Sorry there is also Philip Sharp. Maybe he's better than Rendell, who in fairness may not be so bad. But Moniz is surely still by far the best choice. Is there a way to have a discussion?

[Dylan Matthews]

What's Moniz's first name? Wikipeding Sharp, he seems pretty good. I can't say I've heard of Moniz.

[Greg Kuperberg]

Ernest J. Moniz of the MIT physics department. He served as Clinton's energy undersecretary and later as his science advisor.

http://web.mit.edu/physics/facultyandstaff/faculty/ernest_moniz.html
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_93202695

[Dylan Matthews]

He seems great; I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility. I don't know of any official channels for that, but I would definitely put together a petition of likeminded academics if I were you. That could sway them.