Former Governor Tom Vilsack (D-IA) - Secretary of Agriculture
Fully convinced of the "team of rivals" philosophy, Obama decided to pick yet another former primary opponent for a prominent role in his cabinet. Vilsack will have a powerful voice in shaping policies for rural America, and his prominence, combined with fellow Iowan Senator Tom Harkin's chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee, will put Iowa's interests - namely Ethanol - front and center. Just over a year ago, Vilsack was considered one of the front-runners for the presidential nomination; now, he joins his fellow front-runners Clinton, Richardson, and Biden in prominent roles advising a president less experienced than all of them. Just like Lincoln did it.
Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) - Secretary of the Interior
A rising star in the party, Salazar was the second Hispanic politician named to Obama's cabinet. He, like Vilsack and much of the rest of the cabinet, has a reputation for being a moderate, and has been relatively open to trying new solutions for domestic energy supplies. And yes, that's him in the cowboy hat. But unlike Bush, he has a 100-year family heritage of ranchers. The combination of these two gives the western United States a powerful voice in shaping energy policies in this country for the next few years.
Also, this appointment creates yet another Senate vacancy to be filled by a Democratic governor. For those keeping score, that's now Illinois, New York, Delaware, and Colorado. It seems like all those positions have their own intrigue surrounding the governors' decisions. Illinois is obviously a fascinating example of governing gone wrong. New York's Governor Paterson wants to replace a female member of a Democratic political dynasty with another dynasty, either female (Caroline Kennedy) or male (Andrew Cuomo). Finally, Delaware's governor appointed a Biden ally so that Biden's son could run in two years. Politics is certainly an insider's game, and I am not sure what this will spell for Colorado (perhaps Harrison knows something about this).
Here's the guy who gets to make this decision. I'm sure he's thankful that the New York Post and the Daily News don't have circulation in Denver.
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