Obama's dilemma: Which Republican(s) are right for the Cabinet?

BE-ELECTED
by Chad Rubel

Can you name the lone Democrat that George W. Bush put in his cabinet and in what position?

If you said Norman Mineta and Secretary of Transportation, you are an avid follower of politics.

But was there a distinction in something Mineta did that made more of an impact because he was a Democrat? Do you remember anything Mineta did as Secretary of Transportation that made any significant impact in his 5½ years of service?

Wikipedia, for what it's worth, only mentions the actions on September 11, 2001, when Mineta issued an order to ground all civilian aircraft traffic for the first time in U.S. history. There is also a strange exchange on other elements of what happened on that day, some of which was bizarre and contradictory.

But that is it.

And what about William Cohen's service as Secretary of Defense in Bill Clinton's second term?

Was there a distinction in something Cohen did that made more of an impact because he was a Republican? Now, Cohen's service was more memorable, but to be fair, Cabinet members under Democratic presidents get to do more than Cabinet members under Republican presidents, regardless of party affiliation.

So what might we have to look forward to when a Republican joins the Obama Cabinet? It's not like Obama will pick a John Boehner or a Newt Gingrich into the fold. Chuck Hagel is a classic example of someone who fits the mold -- someone with a point of view but who sees the bigger picture.

Is picking someone from the opposing party meaningful or is it window dressing? It's easy to see that Mineta was window dressing since he didn't have much power. Wouldn't you think a Democrat could get more for Amtrak or public transit as a Secretary of Transportation?

Cohen had an impact, but it also fell into the mentality that the GOP understands defense better than the Democrats, a perception the Dems would love to shift. Robert McNamara was a Republican when John F. Kennedy picked him for Secretary of Defense. And we may indeed have another Republican as Defense Secretary in 2009.

For all of the talk of Abraham Lincoln putting his enemies close, well, William H. Seward (Secretary of State) and Salmon P. Chase (Secretary of Treasury) were rivals within the Republican Party for the presidency. But they might be the 1860 equivalent of Joe Biden (vice president) and Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State?).

And in Chase's case, when he got ornery in 1864, Lincoln accepted his resignation as Treasury Secretary and made him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 

What was even more impressive was switching vice presidents in war time to a War Democratic Party member (Andrew Johnson) who later became president in 1865.

Appointing someone from the opposing party can be seen as a symbolic gesture, but if it's going to make an impact, more careful thought should be placed for a good fit with the right person.

Regardless of party affiliation, the crossover person who likely had the most impact in the last 40 years was Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who served as Counselor to the President for Urban Affairs in the Nixon Administration as well as Ambassador to India and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Ideally, Obama would be able to find the next Daniel Patrick Moynihan -- perhaps former VP nominee Jack Kemp -- and truly set a standard where a great impact can be made. And set a precedent that hopefully the next GOP president would respect to get a great Democrat in a Republican administration. It's a tough task for any incoming president, and Barack Obama might have as good a shot as anyone of making the right selection.