23 days left in the campaign, and it seems like a fun time to start some post-election predictions (originally, I was going to go back through old predictions I’ve made here and see how I did. I still might after the election, but that doesn’t seem like nearly as much fun right now.)
Alright, first off – fun with Cabinets:
Obama Administration:
Attorney General: Tim Kaine. He’s term limited in Virginia, close to Obama and a former civil rights attorney.
Defense Secretary: Chuck Hagel. The most obvious “Republican-in-the-Cabinet” pick.
Secretary of State: John Kerry. Rumor has it, he wouldn’t turn down a spot in an Obama cabinet.
Treasury Secretary: Jon Corzine. Not sure if they can pull him away from governing New Jersey.
McCain Administration:
Attorney General: Rudy Giuliani. No-brainer.
Defense Secretary: David Petraeus, Joe Lieberman, or Tom Ridge.
Secretary of State: See above, subtract Petraeus.
Oh, and Lindsay Graham… for something.
2012 candidates: If McCain wins…
Democratic Primary: Hillary Clinton, Brian Schweitzer.
The HRC guess is obvious, and the Schweitzer pick will (if McCain were to win) probably gain traction very quickly. My guess is that Schweitzer grabs the Netroots support, and that the Schweitzer buzz would start pretty early on. As for longer shots… Claire McCaskill? Sherrod Brown? I’m deliberately ignoring two Virginians: Jim Webb and Mark Warner. Warner, because I just don’t see his rationale for running – I think he knows his candidacy would have a hard time catching on in a primary; and Webb because I’m leaning toward the idea that he really does want to be a Senator. I could be wrong.
If Obama wins…
Republican Primary: Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney. Maybe Bobby Jindal. No real surprises. Sorry, I guess I’m going with the conventional wisdom there. Do I need a long-shot? Um… Bob Corker? Mitch Daniels? I’m going to have to stop picking Daniels as my all-purpose long shot.
I’ll have more “future picks” to come…
*One of my favorite old Dan Quayle-isms.
Hagel would get something like Sec’y of Agriculture. No way does Obama (I would hope) insert his token Republican at Defense.
Jindal wouldn’t run if Palin or Huckabee was out there. Tim Pawlenty might – he’s becoming my version of Mitch Daniels. He fits pretty well, considering there’s no limited-gov guy out there (Romney is more pro-Wall Street than ideologically motivated).
I would do this for the Greens but the thought depresses me right now.
Don’t know about the Hagel thing. Clinton picked Bill Cohen for Defense and set the bar pretty high about bipartisan cabinet posts. Obama has said in the past that his bipartisan efforts won’t be token-y (my word, not his). He won’t have a “Norman Mineta for Transportation” equivalent (his analogy, not mine).
I could see Pawlenty running. He’s pretty inoffensive and even seems like a nice enough guy, if a bit unexciting. In other words, yeah, he’s a good match for My Man Mitch. You don’t think Jindal would run if Huck or Palin were in? Dunno… I think he’s an ambitious guy and could probably form a decent rationale for his campaign.
Alright, skip the Greens. How about this – choosing from any Party, who would make up your ideal Cabinet?