The Cabinet et al

Well yesterday I said that Rahm Emanuel would be the new Chief of Staff, but apparently that decision is still pending. I personally think it'll happen - Emanuel and Obama go way back and have perfectly complimentary ways of getting things done. Emanuel's a bulldog known for his love of direct confrontation and coercion; Obama, obviously, is The Great Persuader. If it's not Emanuel, I suspect Tom Daschle would be the frontrunner. Daschle's a good choice as well, but he won't be as good at making House dems compliant, and that's where Obama's first internal fights are going to be waged (as was the case for both Carter and, infamously, Clinton). The Times has a very worthwhile look at Emanuel today.

Here's a good article from Politico on the Secretary of State horse race. The top names at this point are Bill Richardson, Richard Holbrooke and John Kerry - known quantities all. Interestingly only Kerry is without significant ties to the Clinton administration, though in Richardson's case that bridge is well burned.

One early disappointment is that Larry Summers is probably going to be Secretary of the Treasury. Summers is another one with Clinton ties (no problem there); the real issue is his outright misogeny. However brilliant an economist he is, I'd be unhappy to see him in any sort of official role. No thanks.

RFK, Jr. for head of the EPA is the frontrunner. He'd be a good choice (and he'd go over very well with the Clinton wing of the party), but I personally hope to see former New Jerson governor Christine Todd Whitman get the spot. It'd be a wonderfully post-partisan appointment, and if Obama does go with Emanuel as Chief of Staff, he'll have to make a couple of post-partisan appointments to balance things out.

Caroline Kennedy as UN Ambassador is probably off the books in Vegas by now. I can't see anyone else getting this appointment.

For the time being I think Bob Gates will remain as SecDef, but eventually Chuck Hagel will end up in that spot - another post-partisan appointment. Same with Colin Powell as Secretary of Education.

I'll post more as I find more to post, but one thing that's clear is that Obama isn't going to make the same mistakes Clinton made in '93. He's going to have an experienced team in place to make the transition as smooth as possible, and we as a country will be better off for it.