With news that San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro may soon be nominated as the next Secretary of Housing & Urban Affairs (HUD), I decided to take a look at a list of previous secretaries. It may be a non-prestigious cabinet post (ranking 13th in the presidential line of succession) but it sure has an impressive roster of former secretaries.
It has been a stepping stone for some. Moon Landrieu spawned a political dynasty in Louisiana, with his son currently serving as mayor of New Orleans and his daughter as one the state’s U.S. senators. Andrew Cuomo is now serving as the governor of New York. Jack Kemp went on to be a vice-presidential candidate, and Mel Martinez became a U.S. Senator for Florida. James T. Lynn and (probably) Shaun Donovan went on to head the Office of Management and Budget. Robert Weaver, the first HUD secretary, was also the first black cabinet member, and Patricia Harris was the first black woman in the cabinet. George Romney capped his public career with a stint heading HUD, and say what you want about Carla Hills and Samuel Pierce, but they were trailblazers for women and blacks in corporate America.
The other secretaries, like Henry Cisneros, Alphonso Jackson, and Steve Preston went on to have impressive careers in business. So, assuming that Julian Castro is confirmed as the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs, it is not like he is accepting political oblivion. The position doesn’t confer instant gravitas and put you on everyone’s short list for vice-president, but it doesn’t hurt. It has in the past been a rung on the ladder to higher elected office.
I even wonder, a little bit, if this nomination is being done at the behest of the Clintons, who want to fatten up Castro’s resume for a possible position on the ticket.
Wow, if you are right about the Clintons. She needs someone young, for the future.
It would also mean Obama is appearing to pick a side in a Biden Clinton race, maybe with Biden’s approval.
Interesting.
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Heh,
You could also see how this could help Biden as a VP.
I like it.
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First, instant thought:
Absolutely! Castro is the guy who impregnated Chelsea, so that Hillary can have a Latino grandchild in 2016. They’ll stop at nothing, I tell you!
Spread the word.
</snark>
Castro… Castro… That name rings a bell…
Clinton/Castro
The wingnut mind reels.
I suppose I see the logic in driving that wedge more deeply between the GOP and Hispanics.
But Clinton should clean up with Hispanics anyway. The key to running the table to winning over those working class whites, who – as our host has put it – just can’t pull the lever for Obama “for some reason.”
I think a bluff talking populist like Schweitzer makes a lot more sense.
Why Clinton? might not the appointment be aimed at 2014 elections? more immediate and more important (and another pressure towards immigration reform) also, seems to me Obama has been foregrounding Biden enough recently to appear he supports both equally.