Cabinet Games

President-Elect Obama announced his top national security picks today, which, when combined with last week's economic press conference, fills in most of the major positions. Sure, Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary isn't official yet, and important posts like Energy and Education are also still vacant. But with most of the jobs we pay attention to filled, I thought I'd weight in on the picks so far.

Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton
People tend to focus on the whole primary rivals aspect. But outside of the lead-up to Iraq and a few other things, their stances aren't all that different. The bigger concern is that she's more known for domestics than foreign policy. But people forget one important thing: people around the world LOVE her. If there's one person who can get Israelis and Palestinians to sit down and talk, it's definitely her (or Bill). Along with Obama's presidency, Hillary as Secretary of State will do a lot to make the rest of the world happy with us. So name recognition in this case makes up for any lack of foreign policy experience.

Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
As the man hired to clean up Rumsfeld's mess, Gates is one of the more popular Bushies and a smart pick for secretary of defense. Gates may not technically be a Republican (apparently no one knows), but people thinking he is will give Obama the bipartisan credibility he wants. Gates does disagree about setting a timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, but that shows Obama can take different opinions. So Obama gets a two-fer in someone who makes him look bipartisan and already has two years experience in the post.

National Security Advisor - General Jim Jones
Jones has an unfortunate name and doesn't seem to be much of a speaker, but otherwise seems like a powerhouse pick. It's nice to finally see someone with actual military experience in one of the top policymaking positions.

Secretary of Homeland Security - Janet Napolitano
Watching her in the press conference today, I know I wouldn't want to mess with her. She looks like exactly the kind of tough person we can trust with our homeland security. And Arizona loves her as governor.

Ambassador to the UN - Susan Rice
Despite her name and race, she does not seem to be related to Condoleezza. That would have been cool though. From what I saw today, she seems sufficiently ambassadorial (if that's not a word, it is now).

Attorney General - Eric Holder
He's another Clintonista, so I'm sure he's experienced enough. And his very serious mustache gives him added gravitas.

Secretary of Treasury - Timothy Geithner
This post is on everyone's minds given the prominence it has had in the past few months. While I don't know too much about Geithner, I do know: a. He's head of the New York Federal Reserve. b. He worked for the IMF. c. He speaks Chinese. d. He speaks Japanese. I'm sold.

So despite the early criticism that Obama was relying too heavily on former Clintonites, I think it's now clear he's got a powerful list. There's the experience of the Clintonistas with Hillary and Holder, new blood in Geithner and Napolitano, and different views from Jones and Gates. His transition has shown all of the intelligence of his campaign. Let's hope the presidency holds up just as well.