If you look at Bill Clinton’s cabinet you’ll notice that it is a little light on members of Congress. Dan Glickman, a representative from Kansas, became the Secretary of Agriculture after he was defeated in the 1994 midterms. Republican Senator William Cohen of Maine served as Secretary of Defense. Rep. Bill Richardson (now Governor) of New Mexico held a couple of cabinet posts. And Norm Mineta, Les Aspin, and Lloyd Bentsen were all former members of Congress that served briefly for Clinton. But Clinton did not look for well-known names. If he had any particular bias, it was in favor of diversity. He was criticized early on for forming an ‘Affirmative-Action cabinet’ but one of the signature aspects of the Clinton administration (especially in retrospect) was the efficiency of the government. If Barack Obama follows to form, we won’t be familiar with most of his cabinet when they are announced.
But there is also good reason to believe that Obama will pursue a different strategy. It’s not unlikely that he will seek to create a unifying cabinet that includes a few Republicans. On foreign and military affairs, and on the economy, he may seek to reassure the country by picking people that are well-known and well-respected on both sides of the aisle. Most mock lists I see for Obama’s cabinet are of this All-Star variety. The Republicans most likely to be a part of Obama’s cabinet are those that have either tepidly or explictly endorsed his candidacy. Senator Chuck Hagel and former Senator Lincoln Chafee are likely to get tapped, as is Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa. Indiana Senator Richard Lugar would be a major coup, if he agreed to serve.
State: Senator Chuck Hagel or Senator Richard Lugar, Fmr. Senator Bill Bradley
Defense: Senator Chuck Hagel, Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, Senator Jack Reed
Attorney General: Fmr. Asst. Attorney General Eric Holder
Homeland Security: Tony Lake, Richard Clarke, Lee Hamilton, Tim Roemer
National Security: Anthony Zinni, Greg Craig, Samantha Power, Susan Rice
Agriculture: Former Gov. Tom Vilsack, Gov. Chet Culver, Sen. Kent Conrad
Commerce: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Gov. Ed Rendell, Penny Pritzker
Education: Rep. George Miller, Jim Hodges, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
Energy: Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gov. Jeff Bingaman
HHS: Howard Dean, David Cutler, Julie Gerberding, John Kitzhaber
HUD: Carol Mosley-Braun, Bill Bradley
Interior: Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Gov. Christine Gregoire
Labor: David Bonior, Dan Tarullo, Dick Gephardt, Bill Bradley
Transportation: Rep. James Oberstar, Sen. Susan Collins
Treasury: Sen. Chris Dodd, Michael Bloomberg, Austan Goolsbee, Laura Tyson
Veterans Affairs: Rep. Patrick Murphy, Max Cleland, Jon Soltz
UN Secretary: Susan Rice, Greg Craig, Lee Hamilton
Chief of Staff: Former Sen. Tom Daschle, Greg Craig, David Plouffe
