Op-Ed of the Day: Obama’s cabinet re-shuffle
The secretaries of defense, treasury, and state would reportedly all like to leave their posts at the end of Obama';s first term. So is Obama looking for some fresh blood for his cabinet?
Nope, says Doyle McManus, in the Los Angeles Times. He writes that President Obama "seems more inclined to simply shuffle the chairs as he reshapes his Cabinet for the new term."
What's missing from Obama's reported picks? For one thing, there are no Republicans. Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) endorsed Obama over his own party's presidential nominee, but that hasn't gotten him anything more than polite speculation about a possible appointment to the Pentagon or CIA.
There are no people from the business world on the list either. Fans of the Simpson-Bowles debt reduction plan have been lobbying for Erskine Bowles, an investment banker who also worked for Clinton, as Treasury secretary. But insiders say Bowles' chances haven't been good since last year, when he chewed out Obama for failing to endorse the plan.
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In a column for Reuters, David Walker says that Obama should assemble his cabinet with the economy in mind similar to how other presidents formed "war cabinets":
President Barack Obama should form a "unity Cabinet" to demonstrate to the public and Congress that he wants to bring the nation together and accelerate progress on key challenges. It should include Democrats, Republicans and independents. All should be respected in both parties, have meaningful private-sector experience and credibility within and outside the Washington Beltway.
Here's what the Cabinet look likes until January 20th, 2013.
In this handout provided by the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden pose with the full Cabinet, July 26, 2012 in Washington, DC. Seated, from left, are: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Standing in the second row, from left, are: Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Chief of Staff Jack Lew, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. Standing in the third row, from left, are: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Jeffrey D. Zients, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Alan Krueger, and Small Business Administrator Karen G. Mills. Photo by Chuck Kennedy/The White House via Getty Images)