Robert Reich - Not Treasury Secretary

Howard Dean - Not HHS Secretary

Many left-leaning Democrats are asking the same question. Reich would have been a superb choice at Treasury and Dean an obvious choice at HHS. Both are tough, forward-thinking progressive politicians with total command of the briefs in question.  Many people inside and outside the Beltway are surprised that neither man was even in the running. Joe Trippi, a top Democratic consultant who ran Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidential bid, “I think Robert Reich would have been a better appointment than Geithner”.

And there are many others who agree.

So why aren’t they the nominees?

There are many, many reasons.

First, both Robert Reich and Howard Dean are liberals, and that means they don’t mesh with Obama’s all inclusive ‘new politics’ (or centrism as it’s otherwise known). They are mistakenly seen by the White House as skilled ideologues in a post-partisan world.

Secondly, both Reich and Dean would actually work to enact real change in the two most important domestic arenas in government. Simply put, they would define Obama’s presidency at home. Reich would lead the charge to right the economy by taking control of the banking system, tougher regulation and corporate realignment, while pushing hard for targeted infrastructure spending and less tax cuts, while Dean would crusade for the  universal healthcare system America needs. Is Obama prepared to put his first term in the hands of two guys who will actually do what’s necessary rather than what’s prudent? Naaah. Sadly, change is fast turning out to be a slogan, rather than a strategy.

Thirdly, the opposition to both Reich and Dean would have been deafening inside and outside the beltway. Installing Reich in Treasury would have been a huge red flag to Wall Street. And if one thing is becoming increasingly clear Obama is still clearly enthralled by the Street, despite the fact that it’s a huge part of why we’re on the edge of a worldwide depression. Put Dean in HHS and the sound you’d hear would be the health insurance lobby locking and loading their checkbooks for a long fight. Both these guys would signal that the Prez means business. As for the GOP, to suggest they’d be frothing at the mouth would be an understatement. Some of them might even cry.

Fourthly, there’s politics. Keeping two powerhouses like Reich and Dean out of the club might have seemed like a good idea to another powerhouse. According to some DC bloggers, Rahm Emmanuel has long been feuding with Dean and perhaps a word in Obama’s ear would have been enough to have the former Governor of Vermont and DNC chair frozen out of the health post. As for Reich, he remains an economic advisor to the President, but confirmed that he hadn’t been approached to be part of the Obama cabinet.

After the Judd Gregg and Daschle Debacles, HHS and Commerce remain open. There’s still time for Obama to do the right thing.

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eahhh. i've seen better.

So what exactly is Obama thinking with his cabinet picks?

Everyone from Joe Lieberman to Pat Buchanan is delighted with Obama’s top job choices. Joe says they’re “perfect”, which suggests Obama is doing something very, very wrong. Pundits are torn. Is Obama a closet centrist who sold us a bill of goods with all that ‘change’ stuff? Or is he a progressive who’s going to browbeat all his experienced Clintonians into doing his bidding.

My guess is the answer is neither. Obama said today that the ‘change’ is going to come from his desk and filter downwards, but that’s easier said than done. If Obama truly is a progressive (and he really needs to be to define this historical economic moment), a more likely outcome is that the cabinet could quickly descend into ideological squabbling as the President talks up real change, and the cabinet talk up real caution. Obama is known as a consensus builder. If the cabinet is moderate, the consensus will be moderate, and real ‘change’, well that will have to wait.

It would certainly help the President’s ‘change scenario’ that at least one of his major cabinet picks was someone, well, new. But there isn’t really one guy in the top team that offers a totally new perspective on anything at all. So far moderation and predictability has been the order of the day, except in the case of HRC for State, which strikes me more as either fear or plain stupidity.

Time will tell, of course. But there’s one word that definitely wouldn’t be used to describe the new cabinet.

And that’s transformative.

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