A month after the presidential election, President-elect Barack Obama has started to name the chief members of his cabinet and advising staff. In a continuation of our evaluation of Obama's decisions (started on Nov. 7 with our editorial, "Obama should strive for bipartisan cabinet"), the editorial board of The Miami Student believe that the current choices offer a positive, stable direction for the country. Barring confirmation problems, Obama's picks for secretary of state (Hillary Clinton), defense (Robert Gates), commerce (Bill Richardson) and attorney general (Eric Holder) seem to be going for the gold in what may be an all-star line-up of cabinet members. While we worry about true bipartisanship, we feel that Obama's appointments will offer short-term balance in an agenda that must be heavily focused on Iraq, Afghanistan and the economy.
It seems amazing that Obama is able to move past the struggles of his primary campaign in appointing a rival to such an important cabinet position. While the confirmation of Clinton will mean the loss of an important ally in the Senate, she will serve a valuable role in bringing a new American message to the world. Larger questions will remain until after Jan. 20, of course, as her role in coordination with National Security Adviser-designate Gen. James Jones and Gates will be determined by Obama's management style. The latter two represent a continuation of President George W. Bush's Iraq and global war on terror policies and illustrate Obama's willingness to keep an even hand on his management of Iraq and Afghanistan. There are, after all, no anti-war individuals in positions that handle security policy.
Holder, as Janet Reno's deputy attorney general under President Bill Clinton, has had exposure to the top office before and should adjust well after his Senate confirmation. Richardson, however, seems at an odd place within the administration. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and secretary of energy, his skills seem almost undervalued in a commerce role, but his views on green energy may allow him to inject new ideas into an economic reorganization in the face of the continuing global financial and energy crisis.
There are concerns, though, and they rank among questions of change and moderate policies. While it is true that many advisers and cabinet picks are from the Clinton administration, how could they not be? As the last Democratic administration since the end of the 1970s, it would be troubling for these individuals to have been nowhere near to the top in the 1990s-the worst thing that could happen is for the uninitiated to enter Washington, D.C. with inadequate experience to complete the difficult task at hand. Second, Obama's message should not be perceived as too liberal, especially when examining his priority.
By convincing Gates to stay on and using a former NATO supreme commander as his closest security aid, Obama is signaling his desire to handle Iraq and Afghanistan before attempting to change the domestic landscape. And that change will be hamstringed by the economic lull we are experiencing. Coupled with the fact that cabinet members rarely survive the four years of a presidential term with the same amount of persuasive force that they enter, current appointments should not provoke radical reactions. Just as the Senate will have to do before confirmation hearings, we will just have to wait and see.
