The Cabinet

There are a lot of cabinet positions that are considered relatively minor (although on a personal level, they probably have a lot more to do with our lives than the bigger ones) that I'm not going to speculate on, but the big ones are too tempting not to take some wild guesses on.

Secretary of State:
My money says Bill Richardson. The man was made for this job. While his charisma evaporated on the campaign trail, Richardson is the go-to guy for defusing international crises, his diplomatic credentials are unparalleled, and I think he and Obama see eye to eye on their goals. This is wishful thinking, I suspect, because John Kerry is already pushing hard for the job and he has more clout, but Richardson seems to me to be the best choice.

Secretary of Defense:
Chuck Hagel. I'm pretty certain about this. He's not especially popular with wingnuts on either side, but he has broad appeal on both sides of the center line. And you can't say the man doesn't have chops. Jim Webb would be another good pick, who I can see working well with Obama, but there are two things standing in his way: his national visibility is low, and his Senate seat is vulnerable.

Secretary of the Treasury:
My money says Paul Volcker. He helped dig us out of the late-70's stagflation debacle (although not without consequences) and tried to resist deregulation during the Reagan economy, which I think will be a strong argument in his favor. He is

Attorney General:
Before the infidelity scandal, my money was set on John Edwards. Now it seems he can't even get mentioned on a long list, much less a short one. I'm not really sure what to expect. The better money is on Janet Napolitano: current Governor of Arizona, former US attorney, former State Attorney General. But the Chicago Tribune's list has two interesting names on it that I want to at least mention as decent options.

• The first is James Comey, the former deputy attorney general under Bush who got famous for stabbing Alberto Gonzalez in the back. Comey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his involvement in a late night showdown in the hospital room of the then-Attorney General John Ashcroft where he had to have Secret Service guards posted at the door in order to prevent Gonzalez from badgering the barely-alive Ashcroft into reauthorizing an illegal wiretapping program (if you haven't already, you have to read this). I haven't been following him especially closely, but from what I can tell, he seems like a pretty straight shooter.
• The second interesting name is U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who I think is an absolute legal superhero. He has the legal strength of a hundred mortal lawyers. Republicans love him because he is a constant thorn in the side of corrupt Illinois politicians (and there are many: Fitz has investigated, tried, and/or convicted former GOP Governor George Ryan, current Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich, and an army of aides close to Mayor Richard M. Daley). Democrats love him for relentlessly pursuing the Valerie Plame leak case and getting Scooter Libby convicted. I would love to see Fitzgerald as the Attorney General, but if he's nominated, expect to see a lot of buzz from the right about how Obama is promoting him out of the way to protect his friends in Chicago.

Tim's Wishful Thinking Awards:

• Elizabeth Edwards for Health & Human Services. Unfortunately, Mrs. Edwards is dying and probably won't be around to take a formal position in an Obama White House (certainly not without taking significant time off the job for treatment), but there's no one I can think of who's better qualified for this than her. Obama may tap Howard Dean or perhaps someone who went through the healthcare battles with Sen. Clinton back in the 90's, but we're missing something great with Elizabeth Edwards.
• Samantha Power for Ambassador to the United Nations. Yes, I know it's not a cabinet level position. Frankly, if it wasn't for one ill-chosen word, I think she'd be a shoe-in for Secretary of State. This woman is brilliant. Listen to her talk for five minutes and you can hear the depth of her understanding of the most difficult international issues there are. After guys like John Bolton, I can't imagine a fresher breath of air.
• Tom Daschle for MSNBC. People don't seem to remember this, but Daschle wasn't all that much better than Harry Reid. I remember being kind of relieved when he lost his seat. Keep him out of this administration please.