Obama Outpacing Bush on Nominations

Hmm, I don't remember anyone squeeing over Bush not having all his positions filled, but then again, Bush was perfect.

Despite the need to backtrack on some nominations and some key vacancies, President Obama is still sending the Senate more names and winning confirmations faster than his predecessor, CQ Politics reports.

Of the 385 posts at Cabinet-level agencies that a president must appoint, Obama had sent 100 names to the Senate as of March 24, of which 38 were confirmed. In contrast, Bush had sent 40 and gotten 30 confirmed by the same point in 2001. Obama has also announced more than two dozen other nominations that haven't yet been submitted to the Senate.

Obama to have press conference at 1145a EST

I'm starting to think this whole "President" thing was just a ploy by Obama to gather the kickin' assest pick up basketball team ever.

(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama is set to announce Arne Duncan, the head of Chicago public schools, as his choice for education secretary at a news conference Tuesday, a Democratic source said.

Duncan has headed the Illinois city's public schools district since 2001. It's the third-largest in the nation.

Like Obama, he is a graduate of Harvard University.

Duncan also worked for six years with the Ariel Education Initiative, which tried to create educational opportunities for inner-city students on Chicago's South Side.

Obama and Duncan often play basketball together, and Duncan was one of those who played with the president-elect in a game on Election Day.

Steven Chu to be next Energy Secretary

Per MSNBC just now, and the nomination has been stirring up some happy with the DFH's for the past few hours while the rumour swirled. Imagine, a really progressive scientist in charge of Energy. Go figure. Video is of Dr Chu at the National Energy Summit.

Sebelius out of the running for any post

At this point in the game my spidey sense says there was something that took her out of the running, but I'm just a suspicious broad like that.

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, mentioned as a potential veep and then as a likely secretary of labor, emailed Kansas reporters that she's taking herself out of the mix, the Kansas City Star reports.

Her choice leaves unclear whether Obama will pick a prominent labor secretary — Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has also been mentioned — to speak for labor on the economic team, or a lower profile one whose job could be largely to reorient the Department of Labor.

Sebelius, like other governors, face a very tough few years running a cash-strapped state.

Obama to name secretary of veterans affairs Sunday

Gotta posted about the press conference Obama is doing on Sunday, but here's an added tidbit-

(CNN) – A source in the Obama transition reveals President-elect Barack Obama will announce his choice for Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sunday at a news conference scheduled on Pearl Harbor Day and intended to highlight the service of veterans and current service members.

Someone needs to find out where Tammy Duckworth and Max Cleland are going to be on Sunday.

Poll: Americans feel good about Obama, Cabinet choices

Remember when there was a new poll every time you blinked? Good times...

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama is riding a wave of good feeling toward him and his key Cabinet appointments, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds — positive attitudes that may give him some breathing room for tough decisions ahead. Soaring ratings for the way he has handled the presidential transition so far — more than three of four Americans express approval — contrast with a downbeat national mood over the economy.

By 69%-25%, those surveyed approve of Obama's choice of former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State.

By an even wider margin, 80%-14%, they support his decision to have President Bush's Defense secretary, Robert Gates, stay on the job.

(snip)

In the poll, Americans by more than 3-1 say they trust Obama more than Bush to handle the economy. By 58%-33%, they support Obama's promise of a huge spending package to stimulate the economy.**

(snip)

There's little concern Obama is relying too much on veterans of President Clinton's administration. By nearly 4-1, those polled say the picks will make the new team more effective.

**Suck. On. That. Republicans.

Obama's Monday news conference

By GottaLaff

FYI, 10:40 am EST is the time of P.E. Obama's newser to announce Secretary of Clinton, as well as:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a member of a Republican administration who would stay on under the new Democratic president; retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, and Susan Rice, an Obama foreign policy adviser, as U.N. ambassador.

The first black elected as president will choose former Justice Department official Eric Holder as the first black attorney general, the top U.S. law enforcement officer, a Democratic official said.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano would be homeland security chief.

Obama Cabinet To Be Completed By Christmas

A well-oiled machine humming right along.

Transition chief John Podesta told Bloomberg that President-elect Obama would complete "virtually the whole Cabinet" by Christmas, and the new president's team will reach beyond the Democratic Party. He said there will be "multiple Republicans" in the administration.

Said Podesta: "You'll see them spread throughout the administration."

Obama considering former Miss. governor for cabinet

By GottaLaff

From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro:

Former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus is being considered for multiple Obama cabinet positions, according to an informed Democratic source. Among the positions -- Secretary of Education, Energy and Ambassador to the United Nations.

Mabus was one of the earliest supporters of Obama, a key one at the time as a former Southern white statewide officeholder. He also did a lot of stumping for Obama in both the primary and the general, and there's a sense among some Mabus supporters that he's more than earned serious consideration for a fairly top appointment.

I don't know much about him. Anyone?

Diversity: Obama Taps First-Ever Blogger to Be in Cabinet

Whoa. We've penetrated the inner sanctum. Scarborough is going to freak the f' out. heh

Peter Orszag, the man who President-elect Obama has tapped to be his director of the Office of Management and Budget, (as first reported by National Journal and confirmed by ABC News) is currently director of the Congressional Budget Office, where he has maintained a blog since December 2007, ABC News' Brian Hartman points out.

The "Director's Blog" is fairly dry stuff -- policy papers and references to testimonies and speeches he's given.

(snip)

But that's not the point. The point is that the director of OMB has Cabinet rank. Which means that for the first time ever, there will be a blogger in the Cabinet.

Don't bet on Rendell joining the cabinet

By GottaLaff

Gov. Ed Rendell coulda been a contender, but not any more:

Here's why: If Rendell is appointed, Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor would be sworn in as governor. However, Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll -- a Democrat -- passed away last week. As a result, the Pennsylvania Senate Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati will ascend to the lieutenant governor’s office.

The catch here? Scarnati is a Republican. So Obama picking Rendell would result in a Republican becoming Pennsylvania governor.

Summers may be off of Treasury short list

By GottaLaff

Obama listens. If some of you are concerned about possible cabinet picks, which you seem to be per your comments, then maybe this will put you at ease:

Intense backlash from women’s groups may have pushed former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers off the short-list to lead Treasury for President-elect Barack Obama, according to widespread reports circulating in Democratic circles.

The women’s opposition to a possible Summers’ appointment was the explanation some Democratic sources are hearing for why the Obama transition team has crossed Summers off their list. The Obama team doesn’t want to kick off its administration with a controversy nor go head-to-head with an important constituency when there are other qualified candidates, political operatives speculate.

Reports that Summers is no longer in the running are widespread, but not everyone agrees that his problems with women have sealed his fate.

Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization of Women, said there are other reasons to oppose Summers, citing his involvement in Clinton-era policies that many say contributed to the current economic woes. [...]

Sources plugged into financial circles also cite the highly unusual move of reappointing him for a long-term stint at the Treasury helm when he’s already held the job. [...]

NOW’s Gandy says her group has an open line of communication with members of the transition team.

I'm betting that Obama's also hearing from other groups, and some of them may feel, as a lot of you do, that too many ex-Clintonites spoil the broth.

My opinion continues to be, wait and see, trust him to do the right thing. He's the boss. Who he chooses will defer to him, not vice versa. And he has repeatedly stated that he will surround himself with people who don't see eye to eye with him.

He's also far from perfect. Expectations are already unrealistically high. He is bound to do and say a lot of things that disappoint us. How could he not?

He was elected a week ago. Let's give him a chance to strut his stuff before we jump to a lot of conclusions that may or may not be well-founded. I'm hoping for the best, but considering who we were stuck with for the past eight years, Obama has nowhere to go but up.

Gramm-pa McCain's cabinet (no, not medicine...)?

By GottaLaff

Here's a look at who Gramm-pa could choose:

[T]here are a few names that seem virtually certain to pop up in any McCain administration.

Some of those appointments could include:

White House chief of staff: Lehman or longtime McCain aide and speechwriter Mark Salter

Senior counselor to the president: Top campaign official and personal friend Rick Davis

Secretary of state: World Bank President and former deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick; Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.); former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage

Treasury secretary: FedEx founder Fred Smith; former eBay CEO Meg Whitman; Bain Capital co-founder and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney; John Thain, former Merrill Lynch CEO and now president of Global Banking, Securities and Wealth Management at Bank of America

Secretary of defense: Lehman; Lieberman; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); current Defense Secretary Robert Gates

Attorney general: Graham; former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.); former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Secretary of education: Former Arizona superintendent of education Lisa Graham Keegan

National security adviser: Policy adviser Randy Scheunemann

Office of Management and Budget: Former Congressional Budget Office director and campaign adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin

::shudder::