Boztopia.com

By now most of you have heard that Rahm Emanuel has accepted the job as Obama’s chief of staff. This is a telling move that will set the tone for what kind of administration Obama wants. Rahm is a pro-Israel hawk, big business kind of guy who I disagree with politically. But by taking him out of Congress and out of any potential cabinet position–and putting him somewhere where he can herd cats and stab people like the maniac he is–Obama has effectively laid down a gauntlet to his critics and allies alike: “Deal with me the way I want or I’ll sic Rahmbo on you.” Since Obama is such a laid-back, measured, conciliator by nature, it makes sense that he would pick someone who is his complete opposite to run the day-to-day affairs of governance.

There are a number of other Cabinet positions up for discussion at the moment, which I’ll look at after the jump.

The big one right now is Treasury Secretary, probably the most powerful position in an Obama White House outside the President himself, thanks to the continually shitty economy. Troublingly, news has leaked that former Harvard president and Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers may be in the running. This is bad news. Summers is a pro-corporatist deregulator who favored many of the policies that directly led to the financial crisis we now face. The last thing we want is someone handling the $700 billion bailout who famously said that women were less innately capable of handling the sciences than men, and promptly slashed the tenure offers to female professors during his time at Harvard. I’ve signed a petition opposing Summers as Treasury Secretary, and urge you to do the same.

Steve Clemons has offered suggestions as to better choices than Summers. I personally favor Sheila Bair, as it would satisfy a few desires of Obama’s–to appoint a high-profile woman to the cabinet, to retain the more sane and rational Bush officials, and to provide continuity while managing the economic doldrums as they unfold. Bair won my respect the moment she broke ranks with the Bushies and demanded there be more standardized help for homeowners in the bailout.

On a more positive note, there is apparently scuttlebutt that Robert “Bobby” Kennedy Jr. himself may be appointed to head the EPA. This would be awesome on so many levels. The current EPA is rotten to the core–an enabler of the Bush regime’s deregulatory zeal. Plus, Obama needs Clinton and Kennedy to maintain their support for him, so this is a horse trade worth making.

Another friend of Obama’s from the Harvard days, Julius Genachowski, has been named to Obama’s transition team, no doubt handling tech issues as he did during the campaign. Genachowski is a big supporter of net neutrality, broadband investment, and improving online privacy standards, and he may be able to keep these issues in the forefront, even as the economy takes center stage.

Overall, I’m pleased with the potential choices, except for Summers. That would be a dreadful mistake which would not only mar the goodwill Obama has generated, but would easily set us on a path towards an administration that, as Clemons notes, embodies aspects of both the Clinton and Bush II eras–and not for the better.