Some people are whining that Barack Obama hasn’t appointed any southerners to his cabinet. I guess that is sort of true. Hillary Clinton was only the First Lady of Arkansas, but she was raised in Chicago and currently represents New York. Still, doesn’t she get some honorary mention as a southerner?
Robert Gates was born in Kansas, which is certainly a very red state, but is not technically in the South. Still, Gates got his undergraduate degree from William & Mary, spent his career working for the CIA and Pentagon in Virginia, and most recently was the president of Texas A&M University. Doesn’t that count for something?
And I know the press secretary isn’t a member of the cabinet, but Robert Gibbs was born and raised in Auburn, Alabama, and graduated from North Carolina State University. Gibbs will be the face of the administration, and the face will have a southern drawl.
Actually, I don’t really care. Obama is picking people for their competence. He seems to be resisting the temptation to fill his cabinet with people that can supposedly help him get re-elected because of their strength in some key swing state or with some interest group. If he doesn’t nominate any southerners, who cares?
