Changes
David Bowie
I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
---
http://www.alternet.org/story/106109/
The Obama Administration: Who Could Get Picked?
By Sam Stein, Huffington Post
Posted on November 5, 2008, Printed on November 5, 2008
Even before voting began, Washington was abuzz over what a Democratic
White House might resemble.
In recent days an outline of an Obama administration has begun to emerge
-- both in the rumor mill and in press reports. The campaign itself has
specifically and repeatedly denied any efforts as such. But sources
confirm that advisers to the Senator are already plotting out the
staffing of key cabinet positions. And the picture presented is one of
experience, talent and bipartisanship.
Chief of Staff
The key figure here is Rahm Emanuel, who is already rumored to be the
front man for the job. The Associated Press has reported that the Obama
transition team is making overtures to the Illinois congressman, reports
which both sides have played down. People in the know, meanwhile, are
saying the likelihood is Rahm will be offered the post and will likely
say yes - he has experience in the White House, connections and respect
on Capitol Hill, and the combative, competitive demeanor that might be
an asset for the post.
If for some unforeseen reason Emanuel doesn't work out (sources say he's
that much of a lock), the other names being bantered around are John
Podesta, the current topper of the Center for American Progress and
former chief of staff for Bill Clinton, and Tom Daschle, who has served
as a key Obama adviser throughout the campaign and is formerly the
Senate Majority Leader.
Attorney General
Janet Napolitano seems in line for this key-ranking position, which
became a controversial post under the stewardship of Alberto Gonzales.
The current Governor of Arizona is close with Obama, having endorsed his
candidacy early on. And sources say that she wouldn't mind the move to
D.C. What may end up deciding the appointment, however, is that Eric
Holder - who served briefly as AG under Bill Clinton and headed Obama's
vice presidential search committee - doesn't want to go through the
rigors of a confirmation process and could take himself out of the running.
Secretary of State
This could be the big surprise. Sen. Dick Lugar, a Republican from
Indiana may be, according to high-ranking Democrats, Obama's man for the
job. The two have worked closely on several issues, none more so than
securing loose nukes in former Soviet nations. But Democrats may not
warm to the idea of an opposition party member getting an important
foreign policy post (a complex to which liberals in particular are tired
of being subjected). In light of that, Obama could consider -- and is
rumored to be thinking about -- Sen. John Kerry, former U.N. Ambassador
Dick Holbrooke, current foreign policy adviser Susan Rice and Greg
Craig, another top Obama foreign policy adviser. Among cabinet
positions, this seems to be one of the most wide open.
Treasury Secretary
For, perhaps, this most important position, Obama has a slew of options.
The individual that sources say is rising closest to the top is former
Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, who has been a key endorser of
the Obama candidacy in these tough economic times. At the same time,
Obama could turn to Warren Buffet, though there is little indication
that the Oracle of Omaha wants the job. Or he could look outside the box
and tap Michael Bloomberg, though the New York City mayor is seeking a
third term in office.
Defense Secretary
The consensus is emerging that, at least for the time being, Obama will
keep current header Robert Gates in the cabinet. The job extension would
provide the Illinois Democrat the cover he needs to reverse course in
Iraq without risking charges of overt partisanship on the issue. Here
too, however, there are a host of different names from which Obama can
choose his own appointee. These include Republicans such as Sens. Chuck
Hagel and Lugar, as well as Democrats like Sen. Jack Reed - a strong
congressional voice on foreign policy - Holbrooke and Richard Danzig,
former Secretary of the Navy and another key Obama endorser/adviser.
All of this, of course, is speculation. And the list above excludes a
bevy of names that have been rumored to be in the running for respective
positions. But, from conversations with Washington insiders and
in-the-know Democrats, it seems clear that the process of dwindling down
the long lists of potential cabinet members has already begun. And the
names emerging represent the type of politics that Obama has preached:
competent, non-rigid, and above partisanship.
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