The US Cabinet is composed of the Vice President and 15 Executive Dept Heads. And then there are 7 other key positions that generally are considered to have Cabinet rank. And frankly, I think there are a handful of other key positions that I would consider Cabinet rank, especially ones focused on solving the country's many economic problems, and particularly ones on economic fairness, such as the key position Valerie Jarrett holds.
I think history will say that President Obama's First Term Cabinet is the second best in the country's history. The depth of this US Cabinet is just awesome.
So why is it so good? Well, it has to do with President Obama's rare ability to ferret out exceptional talent. The only US President that has matched him in this critical ability is John Kennedy.
Since many of these Cabinet Heads and other Cabinet-rank leaders will be leaving, than that has to mean that the overall quality of the US Cabinet in Obama's second term has to drop?
After all, probably the best member of the Cabinet in Obama's first term, Hillary Clinton, is leaving. And so is Tim Geithner, who was so critical in rescuing the country from economic disaster after the 2008 financial meltdown.
John Kerry is an exceptional choice for Secretary of State, and so was Susan Rice. But to assert that these two will be better in that critical spot than Hillary Clinton is off target.
And the country is very fortunate to have Susan Rice continue in the key Cabinet-rank spot of US Ambassador to the United Nations in Obama's second term.
As great as Geithner has been as US Treasury Secretary, I think Jack Lew will be just as good. So, this one is a push. And when you combine Jack Lew, Jeffrey Zients and Gene Sperling, you have a very effective trio to help solve the country's many economic problems.
Leon Panetta has been a solid US Defense Secretary. But you know what, Chuck Hagel will be substantially better.....just wait and see. He will effectively lead the much-needed reorganization of the Pentagon, which will make it a much better organization, and also substantially reduce US Government spending by the Dept of Defense. Yeah, that's a two-fer. Not just make the US Dept of Defense stronger, but also make a major dent in solving the US Government's fiscal problem.
Thus when I combine the above three key Cabinet changes in State, Treasury and Defense, I think you have a push, mainly because of what Hagel adds.
And when I look at the remaining first-term Cabinet members, I think there are at least a half dozen of them who stick out, and thus it would be wise that they remain in the second term.
First, for the country's good, Kathleen Sebelius cannot leave. She has done a great job with the historic Obamacare, but it doesn't start kicking in totally until 2014 and 2015. If she left, it would be similar to Lebron James leaving the Miami Heat.
Also, Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano are too important leading in their key areas to leave. And I mentioned that Susan Rice should stay, as should Jeffrey Zients in the Office of Management and Budget and Gene Sperling as the head of the Council of Economic Advisers.
And a reason that Obama's second-term Cabinet will be even better than his exceptional first-term Cabinet is that the above Cabinet-rank leaders continuing.....VP Biden, Sebelius, Lew, Holder, Napolitano, Rice, Zients and Sperling.....will be much stronger in their second term due to the broad experience they gained in the extremely challenging first term.
But Obama, having this incredible talent for selecting the right leaders, will do it again in picking his second term Cabinet.
I think he will thoroughly study the best people in the country who can best help solve his key second-term initiatives. As he said in his second Inaugural Address, these key initiatives include the US economy, economic fairness, US debt, energy and climate change, immigration, US national security, and health care.
What you have to remember is that Obama is not just exceptional at ferreting out the best talent, but he also is very persuasive in convincing this best talent to serve the country. After all, he wants his second term to be something very special in moving the country forward.
OK, so who are these exceptionally talented individuals?
Well, I'll stick my neck out and give my off-the-cuff thoughts here.
The clear top-of-the-list person here is Sheryl Sandberg. Since 2008, she has been the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, And from 2001 to 2008, she was the Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations for Google.
When you think about revered US companies, clearly at the top of the list is Google. And Facebook isn't far behind. She played key leadership roles over the past 12 years in both companies.
Further, she also has very solid US Government experience, working in the Clinton Administration as Chief of Staff for the US Dept of Treasury.
Where would she do the most good to the country? Well, given that the US economy is what needs the most help, perhaps Secretary of Commerce might be the best place. I can think of no singular action that would be more important to the success of the US economy in Obama's second term than placing her as Secretary of Commerce, or some other critical economic position, where she would be at the table, just like Jacob Lew, when all of the key US economic decisions are made. She would elevate the Secretary of Commerce position to a level that would make it a very key player in substantially improving all aspects of the US economy, including economic fairness and US competitiveness.
Second on my list is Deval Patrick, who is so multi-talented that he could serve well in many Cabinet positions. His broad experience not only includes as the present Governor of Massachusetts, where the State economy and State businesses have boomed in these very trying economic times, but also he has some very solid industry experience at both Coke and Texaco. And he was also Assistant Attorney General in the Clinton Administration.
Given how our housing crisis still exists, this might be one of the many critical areas where Patrick could make a big difference. Fresh creative eyes on this highly complex housing issue would be very helpful.
And I'll stick my neck out again. Frankly, I can think of no better candidate right now for 2016 President than Deval Patrick. It would be great for him to get some additional continuing substantial seasoning from a lot of exposure to the President and the other very talented Cabinet members in the next four years.
Third on my list is LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Just like Sandberg and Patrick, Viallaraigosa is multi-talented and could be very effective in many Cabinet-rank roles. But just as a thought, the many times I have gone to LA, the thing that comes to me as top of mind is LA's incredible freeway system. So why not place him in the key Secretary of Transportation spot. The country's infrastructure is so critical to solving its many economic problems.
Fourth on my list is Byron Dorgan, a former US Senator from North Dakota. What a driven visionary. With his broad background, he could be particularly effective as leader of the Dept of Energy, of EPA, or of the Dept of the Interior.
Fifth on my list is Christine Gregoire, who was the very effective Governor of the State of Washington. And she has an exceptional background in Energy and the Environment. Thus, she would be great heading the Dept of Energy or EPA.
Sixth on my list is Jennifer Granholm, the former Governor of Michigan. Like the others above, she is also very multi-talented and could be an excellent choice in many Cabinet-rank leadership roles.
Seventh on my list is the charismatic Linda Sanchez as Secretary of Labor. She is presently a very effective US Representative from California. She is a lawyer and is now serving on both the key House Ways and Means and the House Judiciary Committees. Among other issues, she would be particularly helpful on the economic fairness and immigration issues, which are two of the key Obama second-term initiatives.
And there are many others who would be exceptionally strong second term Cabinet-rank leaders. Obama will ferret them out. As one thought, just think how much better US business competitiveness and innovation, and the related many higher paying jobs would be, particularly in the key technology and manufacturing sectors, if the Obama Administration found a place in the second-term Cabinet, not just for Sandberg, but also for Intel's CEO Paul Otellini, who is retiring from Intel in May.
And when it is all said and done, people will be just amazed at the overall exceptional quality of Obama's second-term Cabinet-rank leaders. And this criticism of his being short on diversity in his second-term Cabinet will then no longer exist. And this broad diversity in his second-term Cabinet is what will best help the country achieve Obama's key second-term goals.
So, what will be the best US Cabinet overall in the country's history? The one serving in Obama's second term. Just wait and see.
