Reality Liberation Front

What now?

That’s the question being asked by people and pundits across the country right now…and it looks like the Obama camp has an answer: fill the cabinet and get some legislative set pieces out there. Learning from the transitional successes and failures of his predecessors, Obama has hit the ground running.

STAFF CONSIDERATIONS:

-When Clinton took office, the transition did not go smoothly, in large part because the transition team was picked at the last minute. Obama is not making that same mistake and has already named his. There will be three co-chairs: former White House chief of staff John Podesta, advisor Valerie Jarrett, and his current chief of staff, Pete Rouse.

-The Chief of Staff decision came first…and Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois has accepted the post. Emanuel is no stranger to the White House…as Obama stated in announcing Emanuels’ acceptance of the position: “During his seven years in the Clinton White House, Rahm was the point man on some of the most difficult issues, from the passage of landmark anti-crime legislation to the expansion of health care coverage for children. In just six years in Congress, he has risen to leadership, helping to craft myriad important pieces of legislation and guide them to passage. In between, Rahm spent several years in the private sector, where he worked on large and complicated financial transactions. That experience, combined with his service on the committees on Ways and Means and Banking, have given Rahm deep insights into the challenging economic issues that will be front and center for our Administration”

-There’s a lot of pressure for Obama to choose a Treasury Secretary quickly…and the field of candidates is impressive. It includes Clinton’s Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, President of the Federal Reserve Bank Timothy Geithner, legendary investor Warren Buffet, and New Jersey Governor and former co-chair of Goldman Sachs, Jon Corzine. The front-runner appears to be Summers…but his reputation for being a bit combative, and some recent offensive remarks, could push Geithner into the lead.

-A lot of folks seem to be after the Secretary of State job. Apparently, John Kerry is actively pushing for the job, but Republican Senator Chuck Hagel is also an odds-on favorite. Governor Bill Richardson has also been mentioned, and would make sense given his strong support during the campaign.

-Everyone seems to agree that the spot of Defense Secretary will be held by Robert Gates (the current Secretary) for some time to promote stability. But names like Hagel and Powell are being bandied around.

-Secretary of Education: only heard one name mentioned…are you ready? Colin Powell. Powell recently made remarks about the importance of education, and has worked on several educational programs: “I think the American people and the gentlemen running for president will have to, early on, focus on education more than we have seen in the campaign so far. America has a terrible educational problem in the sense that we have too many youngsters not finishing school. A third of our kids don’t finish high school, 50 percent of minorities don’t finish high school. We’ve got to work on this, and my, my wife and I are leading a campaign with this purpose.”

-For head of the Environmental Protection Agency, the only name I’ve seen mentioned is that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has already indicated that he would accept the position. Kennedy, an environmental attorney, seems a natural choice especially because (according to HuffPo) “The selection of Kennedy would be a shrewd early move for the new presidential team. Obama advisers said the nomination would please both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)”

-Here’s a nice interactive roundup of some of the cabinet positions and the likely candidates.

LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES:

-The New York Times has listed the most important “hurdles” to tackle in the order we are likely to see them addressed:

1) We’re likely to see a general stimulus package come first.

2) Mortgage relief…have to help people renegotiate their mortgages and hold onto their homes.

3) Federal regulation….time to put a tighter leash on Wall Street.

4) Auto Industry…communicate the obvious: innovate or die…then give them some loans to go green.

5) Healthcare…no time for an overhaul. They’ll let Medicare negotiate with the drug companies, and increase availability of cheap coverage and coverage for children.

6) Tech…increase the number of work visas for skilled workers, spread the availability of high-speed internet, and keep the net neutral.

7) Energy…largely on hold. Can’t do much until the economy is back on its feet. Global warming will have to wait to get its due…hopefully some of the changes in other sectors (ie. Auto) will help.

Trade…hard to know what he will do here…many will call for protectionist measures (like taking a firmer stance with China, et cetera). It won’t be easy, given our responsibility for the current global economic crisis, to get other leaders to be very accommodating. For that reason, the renegotiation of NAFTA will also probably have to wait.

Right now, most of this is more speculation than fact…the one thing we do know is that, true to form, Obama and his advisors seem to be anticipating the next thing to be done and are working fast to stay in front of it.