Who Should Be In Obama’s Cabinet?
I want to share in this fascinating discussion I participated in yesterday on GRITtv hosted by Laura Flanders. We covered Barack Obama’s selection of Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff and talked about who we’d like to see fill the rest of Obama’s cabinet. Alexis McGill Executive Director of Citizen Change, Dan Gerstein former Senior Adviser for Senator Joe Lieberman’s Vice Presidential and Presidential campaigns, David Bender, the host of Air America’s Politically Direct, and Christine Cegelis, a Democratic Candidate for Congress in Illinois in 2004 were also there to weigh in.
Let me know what you think. Who’s your dream team on the cabinet? Who in particular are the women you’d like to see appointed?
GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”
As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.
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Just like President Kennedy did almost 50 years ago, Senator should search out to fill his caninet with the best abd the brightest.
I would like to see Senator Kerry choosen for Sevretary of State. He has years of experience on the Senate Foriegn relations committe and sees the world as one community.
At Defense, I would like to see Colin Powell come back into government service. General Powell has a pragmatic viewpoint toward the worlds problems. zI can only imagine what would have happened if the Vulcans in the Bush team would have listened to his sound advice.
Anthony Zinni would make a fine National Security Advisor, he has been used by former presidents as an a troubleshooter in the mideast.
At HEW, I wuld like to see Howard Dean get the post. He has shown through his work at DNC that he is an inovative billiant man.
I would like to see Max Clelland get the Vterans Affairs Post. Senator Clelland has a great deal of experience and know what it is like going through the Veterands Health Prgrams.
Dick Gephart would make a fine Secretary of Labor. He has always been a valuable ally toward unions and has advocated workers rights for years.
Finally, I wish Roibert Rubin Would come back to be secretary of the treasury. He was responsible for sound economic policy during the CLinton WHitehouse years.
I almost odrgot to mention Janet Napolitano as being a great choice for attorney gerneral.
Bill, These are all good picks. Well, I have never been that impressed with Gephart and Daschle has even less backbone than Harry Reid.
Women’s names don’t automatically come to the top of most people’s minds, but I would strongly encourage Obama to pick a gender balanced cabinet. I have Janet Napolitano at the top o my list also except for the fact that if she leaves the governor’s post, the right wing Republican secretary of state will automatically become governor. If he would consider bringing back Colin Powell, why not Madeleine Albright?
And if Max Cleland is a contender for Veterans’ Affairs, why not Tammy Duckworth? And so on.
Gloria- I was also thinking that Tammy Duckworth should be tapped to head the VA.
To head up HHS, I would actually like to see a more non-traditional pick- someone like Claire Fagin, RN, PhD, who has dedicated her whole life to advancing healthcare and every institution and organization where she has served as director or President,has been been better off for it. Of course as a nurse myself, I am a bit biased here because I’d like to see more nurses involved in prominent, high-level government positions.
I’d also like to see former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, in some very prominent position in Obama’s administration, perhaps Treasury Secretary.
I’ve been thinking about how this country needs a strong leader as Surgeon General and I haven’t yet decided who I would like to see fill this role but I do know this – it needs to be forward-thinking, experienced individual with a demonstrated commitment to helping safeguard the public health,with all that that entails. They will also need to be able to stand up to the bullies on the far right (and even some weak-willed Democrats) who seek to use the position as Surgeon General to mask their extremist social agenda and pass it off as accepted, mainstream science (that goes for whomever is selected to head up the CDC).
Secretary of Defense- Chuck Hagel or General Wesley Clark. Wes Clark might also be a good pick for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
National Security Adviser- Madeline Albright
Rep. Jan Schakowsky- Possibly Secretary of Commerce (or head of the Dept. of Energy)
With respect to the other Cabinet positions, I’m still undecided. I am particularly concerned about who he might pick as Secretary of Education and even more so, the Attorney General- this could be one of his most important decisions given the total disregard for the Constitution over the last 8 years.
Stacy, I love your suggestion of Claire Fagin for two reasons. First of all, she is not only deeply qualified in the health care arena, she has no axe to grind and a history of leading with integrity. Second, you’ve thought beyond the usual, mostly male, candidates. And having a nurse for a change would signal willingness to seek out new and more human solutions to our health care crisis.
I doubt that Reich is mainstream enough to be chosen for Labor though he’s such a creative thinker I have always had highest regard for him. I believe someone on the Flanders show suggested Anna Berger or Any Stern, also creative thinkers not mired in old labor ruts.
There are plenty of very qualified women who could do these jobs extremely well. Overall, the strongest statement Obama could make is to search them out and appoint a cabinet that is gender balanced as well as otherwise diverse.
Wasn’t Reich Secretary of Labor during the Clinton years? He’s an economist by training so I thought maybe he could serve in some economic position in the Obama administration, not necessarily as Secretary of Labor.
It’s long-past time to have a woman as one of the Joint Chiefs, and no one has served the military with more distinction than just recently promoted (again) 4 star General, Ann Dunwoody, who I think would do an excellent job.
In addition to the high-profile Cabinet positions everyone is focusing on, there are a whole host of lesser-known but just as important positions (Solicitor General, Head of the Office of Legal Counsel, Surgeon General, etc.) to fill and Obama could ensure meaningful change (and meaningful diversity) by filling these posts with experienced, forward-thinking, ethical individuals- what a nice change that would be after 8 years of political cronyism and far right ideological, neoconservative extremism.
Firedoglake has an interesting take on the question of whether (and if so, why) Hillary Clinton was formally tapped to be Obama’s Secretary of State, here.
I was moved watching Dunwoody talk about her appointment. If Obama represents what American of the future will look like, Dunwoody’s family history represents a prou American past. Nice bookends in a poetic way.
Retired General Claudia Kennedy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Kennedy) is another good choice for Joint Chiefs or other military post, as is Marty Evans, retired Navy Rear Admiral. Kennedy is a solid Democrat, Evans more neutral politically.
Cheif technology officer, Anousheh Ansari. She has a great entrepeneurial background is a bold representation of gender, ethnic, and religous diversity in the cabinet. She along with the rest of her family were the originators of the Ansari X prize which sparked the private aerospace industry and created an aura of accesibility for space travel that has changed the way we view space travel. She was the first female “space tourist” and the only Persian in space. She kills three birds with one stone. She has great managerial skills, is a bold representation of diversity, and is a fresh face for a fresh position making the argument for change.
Cheif Nasa administrator, Dr. Neil Degrass Tyson. Cheif NOOA administrator, Dr. Bob Ballard
These might not seem like important positions but in confronting the pall that has falled over these agencies in terms of public relations and thier dropping standing in terms of scientific advancement and leadership especialy in regards to climate change and environmental stewardship. These two will return a great degree of respect and authority to these organizations after the dismal eight years of Bush scientific censorship.
Head of the Council of Environmental Quality. former president of the national league of cities, Bart Peterson. He was the cheif environmental policy aide to one of the top twenty populace states, was the mayor of a top twelve populace city, Indianapolis, and oversaw a progressive environmental agenda in his two years as president of the NLC, where he was able to create a green agenda and get city legislatures to begin a framework for administering the Bali accord and individualy enforcing the then standing Kyoto accord.
EPA administrator
Teddy Roosevely the Fourth.
Republican that represents the moderate and progressive “bull moose” wing of the republican party. A former navy seal and environmental lawyer who has a background in international affairs which is important in the implementation and shaping of climate change agreements, especialy in the developing world.
Energy/Green Czar
Mayor Bloomberg
His focus would be on the economic benefits of climate change legislation and creating inovative programs that would have either positive or at the very least a minimized afffect on business growth during this financial crises. He has feet in both parties and is considered one of few post partisan figures in America which reinforces Obama’s arguments on the subject. Combined with Roosevelt this would send a cogent message that he is not only willing but will work with republicans on energy and environmental stewardship and if they refuse to cooperate they will simply be viewed as obstructionist in light of these apointments and Obama’s record.