If Kerry is the nominee, what do you think of this Cabinet/inner circle

[Bombtrack]

I'm not getting my hopes up about Edwards, I still think he's a stronger nominee in a general election, but I have never said that Kerry was even close to unelectable. I think this is a very probably yet desirable cabinet. So what do you think of these picks. Best and Brightest redux?

President John Kerry
Vice President Bob Graham
Sec. of Defense Wesley Clark
Sec. of State Fareed Zakaria
Attorney General John Edwards
Sec. of Homeland Security Gary Hart
Sec. of the Treasury Bob Reich
Sec. of Labor Dick Gephardt

[4MoreYearsOfHell]

1. Clark cannot be SecDef

He needs a certain number of years outside the military before he can do so...

Better as SecState...EVERYBODY (except the repukes) respects him...

[Bombtrack]

27. do you have a link about that?

thanks

[Dookus]

2. People have been playing this

"cast the players" game for months.

Presidents do NOT generally pick their cabinet from the list of people they defeated.

However, Gary Hart WILL be Sec. of Homeland Security under any Dem administration. Nothing else on your list is likely. Graham would be a good VP choice, but I think it will be Clark.

[Bombtrack]

10. Kerry is somewhat close to Edwards and Gephardt, and Clark is obviously

friendly with him now.

[jsw_81]

3. Who is Fareed Zakaria?

[Doomsayer13]

8. Columnist for Newsweek

his specialisty is foreign affairs. I don't know much of his other background, but I question his qualifications for Sec. of State.

[Bombtrack]

9. read his book, the "future of freedom"

or this article

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_28-4-2003_pg4_8

Will Fareed Zakaria be the first Muslim US secretary of state?

A growing circle of admirers is seeing in him the first Muslim US secretary of state. Hold on, not so fast, says Zakaria

By Seema Sirohi

The pedigree is impeccable, the intellect solid and the TV-friendly looks don’t hurt. Celebrity journalist Tina Brown calls him New York’s “hot brainiac of choice” with an “awesome ability to deconstruct global issues”. Esquire calls him “one of the 21 most important people of the 21st century”. Another gushing profile declares he’s the Indian reincarnation of Cary Grant while painting a somewhat arrogant, to-the-manner-born picture of the man.

ABC News aggressively manoeuvres to get him as a regular on its Sunday talk show to discuss matters of state with cabinet members. An admiring circle of friends and mentors even sees him one day as the first Muslim secretary of state of the US. That would also make him the first Asian, first Indian-born, first Mumbai-educated and so on. And now with the rave attention his second book, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, is getting, he should be on cloud nine.

<snip>

And anyway, success seemed always a given for Fareed Zakaria. He grew up in Mumbai and went to Cathedral School thinking everything was possible in a world of access and power created by his scholar-politician father Rafiq, and mother Fatma, former Sunday editor of The Times of India. He lives a similar life in NY—now starring American thinkers, presidential speechwriters and journalists invited to taste his gourmet cooking, rare wines and rarefied ideas. Gwynneth Paltrow and Oprah Winfrey buy his wife Paula Throckmorton’s Mughal-inspired jewellery fashioned in Jaipur. As Newsweek International’s editor, a post he galloped to from being managing editor of the prestigious policy journal Foreign Affairs, Zakaria has access with a capital A......

[earthsea wizard]

4. I have to vote "aweful" for any list that includes

Dick Gephardt, and it has nothing to do with his inability to grow eyebrows.

I think Gep was one of those who went to Washington with fire in his belly and the best of intentions, then was eaten alive by the machine of political compromise.

Best he retires.

[jsw_81]

5. Nonsense

Dick Gephardt has been an outstanding public servant and would be a terrific Sec. of Labor (or Vice President, for that matter).

...then was eaten alive by the machine of political compromise."

Compromise is ESSENTIAL in American politics.

[earthsea wizard]

7. Compromise is like salt

a little makes the meal, a lot will stop your heart.

[Exultant Democracy]

11. rock and roll, welcome to DU!

I love thoes books by they way. I heard that they are tryin to get things together to come out with the movie.

[AntiCoup2K4]

15. Now that's a great line!

And welcome to DU!

While I do agree that Geppie shouldn't be rewarded for either his Bush ass kissing, nor his part in the assassination of Dean, labor is one area where he has done well, so I wouldn't object to him being Secretary of Labor. But if Kerry is the nominee and picks Gephardt as his running mate, I'll be projectile vomiting the whole time I'm packing up to move to Canada :puke:

[littlejoe]

17. I like that. Can I use it?

[earthsea wizard]

23. I hereby release all copyrights

and let the line enter the DU domain :D

[Leilani]

6. It will never happen

Cabinet people will come from Kerry's own team of advisors.

Look for Holbroke at State.

I wouldn't bet on Reich; he has a big mouth; wrote a kiss & tell book on Clinton.

[Bombtrack]

12. I don't know if that's necessarily a given

All of the campaigns are pretty fluid in how they overlap with friends and people who have previously worked together. There is far less bad blood between any of them than between people at the lowest grassroots levels and here on DU

It's not like it's Bush vs. McCain. None of the candidates people come from one wing of the party.

Who is Kerry's press secretary? I've always thought Edwards one Jennifer Palmeari would make a really great whitehouse one

[Bombtrack]

13. bump

.

[DrFunkenstein]

14. Robert Kennedy Jr. As EPA Chief, Eliot Spitzer As SEC Chief

Then let's start talking about Supreme Court Justices!!!

[Bombtrack]

18. Spitzer is our gubinatorial candidate for 06

.

[AntiCoup2K4]

16. Overall, not a bad cabinet (except for Kerry himself)

The question over Clark's eligibility for DOD has already been raised, but there's no question he's otherwise qualified. My only other question would be Fareed Zakaria as Sec. of State. What exactly are his qualifications, other than being well educated and well known in the political establishment?

[Bombtrack]

19. read the link I posted

up on the "read his book" post

[littlejoe]

20. It's fun to speculate, but I don't believe any one of us has a clue.

[anti-NAFTA]

21. Fareed Zakaria? Are you f--king insane?

This guy who goes on This Week all the time and spews neoconservative filth about what's good for America? He's the Arab neoconservatives use to say, "Hey, even Arabs agree with us." No way. He doesn't belong in the administration. In fact, he might belong in a damn jail cell.

As for Dick Gephardt, he should be Secy. of Commerce, not labor.

[Bombtrack]

24. Zakaria isn't a neocon

He supported regime change threw the international community(UN and NATO) and ever since Bush bungled everything he's been a big critic of Bush and the neocons(although he was a critic before that). He aint a leftist, he aint a right-winger. I think having someone like him, who is a muslim(he isn't an arab though I don't think) at this time in history would be a great thing.

Why don't you read his columns on his website. His ideas are all about supporting moderates, not attacking everyone. He is an obvious internationalist

[rucky]

22. I dig Bob Reich

and Gary Hart. I think it would be more politically advantageous for John Edwards to be AG rather than VP - it's more high-profile & he can accomplish more measurable stuff.

pretty darn good

[OHdem10]

25. What about

Holbrooke--Sec State Since Clark cannot be Sec of Defense, maybe NSA
If Greenspan retires--Rober Rubin???

[tryanhas]

26. I hate it...

...but you need to realize that "NOMINEES" don't have a cabinet, and Kerry doesn't have a 10% chance of winning in a general election.

[zulchzulu]

28. A couple BZZZTs

Vice President Bob Graham - no way
Sec. of State Fareed Zakaria - I hope you're kidding
Sec. of Homeland Security Gary Hart - major PR problems

The rest seem OK.

You forgot Howard Dean as Sec. Health/Human Services