Everyone's talking about Obama's running mate. But who would you like to see in an Obama cabinet?
Today you can vote on the last cabinet position I'm polling - the next U.S. Trade Representative. Also, you can still vote in all previous rounds.
Tomorrow, I'll put together a diary with my personal cabinet choices. And from Monday to Friday I will put up five different cabinets for a vote for you to decide which one you like best. These cabinets will be comprised of the top three in each round plus wildcards to ensure diversity.
More below the fold.
For all of you have been following these polls, I just wanted to let you know that I changed the system of the polls. The problem is that up to Sec. of Labor all polls were won by white men. It is as unrealistic as can be that we'd actually have a cabinet in which all the top positions were held by white men. It's not the 60s anymore. So the Obama Cabinet polls will have to change a little.
What I will do from now on:
I will still poll all positions and the initial polls for all positions are reopened. So you can still vote for State, AG, etc. In the end, I will look at all poll results and will compile five different cabinets including your favorite candidates from each poll (plus a wildcard where necessary). The diversity of the US population will be reflected in each cabinet. And you then get to vote on each cabinet as a whole.
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You can still vote in the following polls. Here are the links:
Please note: candidates who had won earlier polls were not included in subsequent polls. Those candidates (Richardson, Edwards) may now get wildcards.
Secretary of State (Bill Richardson will get a wildcard)
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior (Les AuCoin's vote total will not count due to ridiculously obvious and stupid poll stuffing)
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor (Robert Reich and John Edwards will receive a wildcard)
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urband Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Secretary of Homeland Security
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Director of the Office of Management and Budget
You can vote in one or all of these polls. I just ask you to please only vote once.
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Who will be included: a maximum of 15 candidates (max number of positions in Dkos polls), I'll try to make each round as diverse as possible, always keeping in mind competence and knowledge required for the respective position. Therefore, I'll include men and women, minorities, sitting and former elected officials, appointed officials, academics, people from the non-profit and private sectors, Obama as well as Clinton supporters, and, yes, also Republicans and Independents.
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Today's candidates for United States Trade Representative are (in alphabetical order, links lead to bio):
Brad DeLong (CA) - economics prof. at Berkeley, fmr. Dep. Asst. Sec. of the Treasury
fmr. Rep. Sam Gejdenson (CT) - fmr. Chair of the House of the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
Austan Goolsbee (IL) - economics prof. at the U of Chicago Business School, member of the Panel of Economic Advisors to the Congressional Budget Office, Obama for America Economic Advisor
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL) - Chair of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology of the Financial Services Committee
fmr. Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) - chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the House Appropriations Committee
Karen Kornbluh - economist, fmr. Treasury Dept. official, Sen. Obama's policy director
Robert Kuttner - attended the London School of Economics, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The American Prospect, co-founder of the Economic Policy Institute
Nancy LeaMond - fmr. Assistant U.S. Trade Rep., fmr. Chief of Staff to U.S. Trade Rep. Charlene Barshefsky, Vice-President at AARP
Nouriel Roubini (NY) - fmr. official at the Treasury Dept. and the President's Council of Economic Advisors, economics prof at the Stern School of Business at NYU
Jeffrey Sachs - Economist, Dir. of the Earth Institute, fmr. Dir. of the UN Millenium Project
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL) - Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House Commerce Committee
Gayle Smith - fmr. Senior Advisor at U.S. Agency for International Development, fmr. Working Group Chair on Global Poverty for the Clinton Global Initiative, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
Joseph Stiglitz - fmr. Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, founder of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Chair of the University of Manchester's Brooks World Poverty Institute
Daniel Tarullo - fmr. Assistant Sec. of State for Economic and Business Affairs, fmr. Assistant to the President for International Economic Policy, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
Laura Tyson - fmr. chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, fmr. Director of the National Economic Council, fmr. Dean of Haas Business School (Berkley), fmr. Dean of London Business School
Enjoy voting!