What's In The Cabinet?

At long last, Hank Paulson and the Bailout Mania crew give me a respite to address President-elect Obama's cabinet picks. Straight to it, then.

Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton
Yes, she's high-profile, but a statesperson? Hillary can be far from diplomatic at times, to the point of downright abrasiveness. She also has a habit of pursuing her own agenda, and she surely sees herself as Obama's equal, if not superior. So she may turn out to be a bit of a loose cannon. Then there's that bundle of testosterone-charged, loose-lipped baggage she carries around. I'm also a tad uncomfortable with her ties to Palestine.

On the flip side, I acknowledge that I'm no Hillary fan, and thus probably biased. And, there could have been far worse picks. I'll give this one a B-, with benefit of the doubt factored in.

Secretary of Defense: Robert Gates
This one frankly puzzles me. Yes, continuity's a good thing (sometimes). And yes, this provides the token Republican appointee that makes Obama look like a moderate. And yes, Gates is no Rummy. He also has a solid pedigree: USAF, CIA, NSC. But for a President who opposed the Iraq War from the very beginning, it still puzzles me. Yet, I can't argue with his qualifications, so I'll give this one an A.

National Security Advisor: Gen. James Jones
Another solid pedigree, and a more logical pick for Obama's cabinet, as he's been critical of the current administration's handling of the Iraq War. With his resume, this is an easy A.

Attorney General: Eric Holder
A Clinton administration holdover, which smacks of more-of-the-same, Washington insider politics. Instrumental in Clinton's 11th-hour pardon of Marc Rich. That gets him a C.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano
She was Anita Hill's attorney in the Clarence Thomas case, and she led the investigation of Michael Fortier in the Oklahoma City bombing case. She's also one of the most highly-regarded governors in the US. But what does she know about homeland security? I'd rather see an ex-military or intelligence pick here. C.

Treasury Secretary: Tim Geithner
Career bureaucrat that lacks the Street experience or financial education for this post, and instrumental in every bad deal Hank Paulson's made this year. He's a Paulson clone. This warrants an F, especially given the economic maelstrom we're in.

National Economic Council: Larry Summers
Treasury Secretary under Clinton. Essentially fired as President of Harvard. A social economist in the Rubin mold. Would probably support nationalization of everything, a new New Deal, and trade limits. I'll upgrade him to a D because he's at least an educated economist who has a reasonable body of research work, even if the conclusions are misguided.

Commerce Secretary: Bill Richardson
I like the guy, but he should head Energy again, not Commerce. A career bureaucrat who has zero experience in the private sector. A business leader should head Commerce. C-, just because he's smart and I like him.

Health & Human Services: Tom Daschle
I never did like him, and this is another old-school Washington insider pick. And close ties to the health care lobby help to earn him a D for this role.

Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel
Another Washington insider, career bureaucrat pick, though he did spend a couple years in investment banking with Wasserstein Perella. Far left, and known for being a caustic pit bull. I don't like this pick, but I honestly don't know enough about the guy to offer lower than a neutral C.

Press Secretary: Robert Gibbs
From what little I know of the guy, he favors censorship of media outlets that might criticize his guy. Serving a President who seems to embrace a thought police type of strategy, that's a bit worrisome. Another C, in part due to how little is known of him and in part because he's just the press secretary, for crying out loud.

Overall
That Obama's opponent in the general election was derisively referred to as "McSame" is bitterly ironic, given that Obama's picks - including his veep - smack of old-school, business-as-usual, Washington politics. There is no doubt that McCain would have brought more outsiders in, including business leaders and people with more knowledge of things like health care and homeland security.

There are also deep ties to the Clinton administration throughout Obama's cabinet, which may be a play to the former Clinton base to shore up a run for a second term, which history tells us Obama will launch by February. But for a guy who ran on "Change," a continuation of inside-the-Beltway log-jam inertia politics is apparent evidence that he doesn't really know what change is. And this cabinet won't bring it.

The bottom line? I looked in the cabinet, and found nothing but stale leftovers.