NationStates Jolt Archive


Kerry Cabinet

Kraknokistan
25-08-2004, 00:59
If Kerry wins, who will be in his Cabinet?
(No flames, please)

My Prediction:
Chief of Staff -- Mary Beth Cahill or Robert Rubin
SecState -- Richard Holbrooke
SecDef -- Sam Nunn or Sandy Berger
NSA -- Rand Beers, Wes Clark, or Gary Hart
National Intelligence Director -- Bob Kerrey
SecHomeland Security -- Bob Graham
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff -- Tony Zinni
Attorney General -- Dennis Archer
SecTreasury -- Robert Rubin or Jim Johnson
SecVeterans Affairs -- Max Cleland
SecHealth and Human Services -- Jeanne Shaheen
SecLabor -- Dick "The Dick" Gephardt
SecInterior -- David J. Hayes
Administrator of the EPA -- RFK, Jr.
SecAgriculture -- Rich Rominger
Secretary of HUD -- Roberta Achtenberg
SecTransportation -- Mortimer Downey
SecEnergy -- Elizabeth A. Moler
SecEducation -- David Boren
SecCommerce -- Laura Tyson
Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy -- Sarah Bianchi
Chairman, Federal Reserve -- Franklin Raines
Chairman, National Economic Council -- Steve Rattner
Chairman, Council of Economic Advisors -- Alan Blinder
U.S. Trade Representative -- Gene Sperling

Anyway, those are just a few of my ideas.
Ice Hockey Players
25-08-2004, 01:09
Kerry's Cabinet will likely at least be a bit more moderate than Bush's, no matter who they are...I am not too familiar with any of the folks listed above, but to my knowledge, none of them have lost a Senate race to a dead person or made a federal issue over a bare tin breast...
Kraknokistan
25-08-2004, 01:46
Bumpity Bump.
Purly Euclid
25-08-2004, 01:59
I doubt the Fed. Chairman position will change soon. It is designed so that it won't necessarily change due to politics. Besides, it seems like politicians worship Greenspan (even though he may retire after this term).
As for the JCS, why would it be Gen. Zinni? He has a horrid track record on Middle East policy, like, for example, he ran away from the Israeli/Palestinian conflict even though the conflict was relatively fresh, and probably more solvable than today. At the very least, get someone who knows what they're talking about in the Middle East, where conflict is more likely today than anywhere else on the planet (except maybe East Asia).
Kraknokistan
25-08-2004, 02:12
Hm. I've never heard that complaint against Zinni before. I'll start looking for a possible replacement. Out of curiosity, who would you prefer for JCS?
Frisbeeteria
25-08-2004, 02:16
Here's a quick reference guide to the Kerry-Edwards 2004 Campaign Staff (http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/kerry/kerrorggen.html). I'd bet it's a safe assumption that a lot of these folks would find jobs in the Kerry White House.

Kraknokistan, I'd like to hear your rationale for these choices. I'd also be interested in your alternate choices. Either you have better sources than I or you've done a lot of research. I learned during the Nixon years (and reinforced it in every election thereafter) that it's vital to know the staff and not just the candidate. This is good stuff to know.
Purly Euclid
25-08-2004, 02:20
Hm. I've never heard that complaint against Zinni before. I'll start looking for a possible replacement. Out of curiosity, who would you prefer for JCS?
Well, I'd personally place John Abazaid on there. I don't know if he'd Democrat or Republican (or Zinni, for that matter), but Abazaid has experience there. He's fluent in Arabic, he's of Lebanese decent, and he knows a lot about the region. Besides, as far as fighting a war is concerned, he can do that. Why else would he be made head of Centcom? His entire thearter is a warzone.
-Vietnam-
25-08-2004, 02:46
My prediction:

Secretary of State- Jane Fonda
Secretary of Education- Would have been Dr. Spock, but he's dead, so instead probably Howard Zinn
Secretary of Defense- Oliver Stone
Secretary of the Interior- RFK, Jr., or Al Gore, or some other pantheist
HannibalSmith
25-08-2004, 08:27
Sandy Berger? Why? So he can stuff some more secret documents down his tighty whitey's?
Varaanta
25-08-2004, 08:38
SecDef -- Wes Clark
SecState -- John McCain

Hey, it could happen.
Kraknokistan
26-08-2004, 01:19
SecDef -- Wes Clark
SecState -- John McCain

Hey, it could happen.
No, it couldn't. McCain will not get SecDef or SecState because it would give the Republicans credence on their argument that they're better on national security. Also, it would give McCain a leg up to run in 2008, which Kerry most definitely does not want. And Clark will not become SecDef because the National Security Act states that the SecDef must be out of active duty for ten years. The only exception is if Congress grants a special waiver, which isn't going to happen anytime soon.

HannibalSmith, I would like to keep this thread purely nonpartisan. You could instead state, "Kerry will not give Berger SecDef because he would feel him to be too controversial in light of recent events."

Purly Euclid, thanks for that suggestion. I'll have to research him, but overall he sounds pretty good.

Frisbeeteria, thanks much for that handy guide. I definitely should have looked at that before my initial post. As for my rationale, I'd rather state that in a later post as some bits are quite wordy.
Mentholyptus
26-08-2004, 01:30
Surgeon General has to be Dean. It would be too weird not to do that.
I would say Kucinich for EPA, but he'd just give the EPA a bad rep...
Is there some sort of a national religious post? Like a strictly nondenominational thing? Maybe Minister of the National Cathedral? Cause that's Sharpton territory if it exists.
Lieberman for Secretary of Republican Affairs.
Frisbeeteria
26-08-2004, 02:26
Surgeon General has to be Dean. It would be too weird not to do that.
Don't know if this was meant in jest, but no way. SG is a figurehead post, way beneath Dean's stature in the party right now. He'll likely either be offered a cabinet seat or one of the better Ambassador slots. After the 'Yeaaargh!' incident, I think you can write off UN, but he'd probably do well at the Court of St. James.
Kraknokistan
26-08-2004, 04:28
Don't know if this was meant in jest, but no way. SG is a figurehead post, way beneath Dean's stature in the party right now. He'll likely either be offered a cabinet seat or one of the better Ambassador slots. After the 'Yeaaargh!' incident, I think you can write off UN, but he'd probably do well at the Court of St. James.

I think Dean will be given Chairman if the DNC. That seems about right. The man who saved the Democratic Party determining its future.
Tremalkier
26-08-2004, 04:41
I have family in high positions in the campaign so I can tell you with assurance that some of those are wildly off, and some points are on the right track.
Frisbeeteria
26-08-2004, 04:45
I have family in high positions in the campaign so I can tell you with assurance that some of those are wildly off, and some points are on the right track.
Given how carefully and secretively he vetted his VP choice, how certain are you that your family knowledge is on target?

... and tell us a few of which ones are spot on, Chuckles - you can't just drop a bombshell like that without at least a teaser or three.
Kraknokistan
26-08-2004, 22:13
I have family in high positions in the campaign so I can tell you with assurance that some of those are wildly off, and some points are on the right track.
Who? In what positions? How close to you are they? Understand that I out of neccessity must be skeptical of this claim. At least tell us a few that were on target and a few that weren't.
Kraknokistan
27-08-2004, 23:27
Kraknokistan, I'd like to hear your rationale for these choices.

Alright, I'll start with Sam Nunn for SecDef. There were four things that made me choose him:

1. National Security experience. Very important, of course.
2. Nuclear proliferation views. He is very strongly againsy nuclear proliferation and knows how to stop it. This is of course very important, what with the possibilities of nuclear terrorism recently.
3. Corporate experience. Very important in a SecDef, yet constantly overlooked in SecDef predictions in favor of military experience. The duties of SecDef are much less tactics and strategy than they are organization and coordination. He must run the military, which is a lot like running a company, hence the importance of corporate experience. Nunn has plenty of this.
4. Respect in the military. Nunn has a lot of respect in the armed forces. This is a must for a SecDef, because if the military officers have no respect for him or her, they will try to be antagonistic.

There is just one thing I can see standing between Nunn and SecDef, but it's a biggie. He is viciously anti-gays-in-the-military. There are two ways Kerry could remedy this. He could tell Nunn to keep his mouth shut on the issue and appoint a pro-gays-in-the-military or even neutral Deputy SecDef, or he could drop Nunn altogether. If he does that, Nunn should at least become nuclear czar.
Kraknokistan
28-08-2004, 01:00
Bump.