Cabinet Rundown: AG, DHS, and HHS

With the exception of the Hillary-Clinton-for-Secretary-of-State flirt tease, the rest of President-elect Obama’s cabinet is starting to take shape. Here’s a look at three of those who have been tapped so far (some pending a background check):

Attorney General–Eric Holder, 57, New York

Eric Holder will become the first African American Attorney General in United States history. He was a deputy attorney general and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during the Clinton administration and teamed with Caroline Kennedy as the lead vetter of Obama’s potential vice presidential selections. Holder seems to be a solid, non-controversial choice. He will certainly have a tough job ahead of him as the various abuses of the past eight years come to light. Hopefully, Mr. Holder can restore some credibility to the job of  top law enforcer. The funny thing about the attorney general position is that this was John Edward’s job for the taking if he would have kept his zipper up. Ah well, he can take solace with Bill I suppose.

Grade: B

Secretary of Homeland Security–Janet Napolitano, 50, Arizona

Governor Napolitano is immensely popular in Arizona and will become only the third secretary in the brief history of the department of Homeland Security. Before serving as governor of Arizona (she is now in her second term), she was a United States District Attorney for Arizona and was Arizona Secretary of State.  Napolitano is Obama’s first high-profile female selection (Hillary is not official yet). It is likely that both the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security will be women.  The one downside to this move for Democrats is that Governor Napolitano was polling strongly in a potential Senate matchup with Senator McCain in 2010. McCain has given initial indication that he plans to run for reelection.

Grade: B+

Secretary of Health and Human Services–Tom Daschle, 60, South Dakota

Tom Daschle is a great selection for this post. I wrote a lot about this selection yesterday.

Grade: A

What Daschle Means for Health Reform

Lost in the drama that always defines the Clintons, arguably the most important domestic appointment was leaked today and got relatively no attention outside of health care circles.  What was the news? Former Majority Leader Tom Daschle has apparently been offered and accepted the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. In addition, Daschle will be President-elect Obama’s point man on all issues related to health care policy.

Make no mistake about it, this is a very important appointment. In fact, it is very hard to overstate its importance for anyone who cares about health care.  Daschle will be no Tommy Thompson or Mike Leavitt, picked to head a HHS that wasn’t a top priority for their President.  Daschle will also not be a Donna Shalala, who had no real power during the Hillarycare debacle. In his role as HHS Secretary, Dascle will be an all out Health Care Reform Czar for the Obama administration. In this role, Daschle will be charged to use his thirty-plus years of Washington experience and contacts to push comprehensive health care reform, including universal insurance, through the congress. And if successful, Daschle will be in charge of getting the new national health program (not to be mistaken with nationalized health care) off the ground running and through its first few years of existence. This may seem easier than the tasks awaiting the new Secretary of State or Treasury Secretary, but bear in mind that similar tasks to reform health care have failed many times over the past 60 years. I wrote more about this history last week.

With lessens from history as our guide, why does Daschle have a good chance to succeed where others, including Hillary Clinton and Harry Truman, failed?

• Daschle has the ability to get things done on the Hill. He served eight years in House and three terms in the Senate, including as Majority and Minority leader. In this capacity, he has the same core competencies that Lyndon Johnson, “the master of the Senate,” had when he ushered through such legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the expansion of the Social Security Act to include universal coverage for the elderly, disabled, and indigent (Medicare and Medicaid).

• Daschle, unlike Hillary Clinton, won’t be a divisive partisan crusader installed because of his or her last name. Daschle showed an ability to work well with Republicans during his time in Congress.

• Daschle by all indications has the full support of President Obama. Daschle was behind Obama early on in his Presidential race, and Senator Obama has returned the favor. Dashle was briefly rumored to be a potential vice president or chief of staff. However, I imagine Daschle would much prefer this new role. He is a smart man and realizes the potential impact and legacy of such a role, if successful.

• Key number: 58 or 59. With 58 or 59 seats in the Senate, his job will be much easier than Hillary’s was in 1993.