Full Disclosure: A longer version of this diary appeared on 29 August 2008 (the day after John McCain announced his pick of Sarah Palin), and went nowhere. I think its ideas might be a little more timely in light of Barack Obama's victory, so I'm running it again, in much abbreviated form, for your consideration.
The strength of Obama's candidacy and the impressiveness of his win, his organization and the complete re-vitalization of the progressive electorate... it appears as if we could be on the brink of our own string of successes. A Democratic Era. And I think you'll all agree: It couldn't come a minute too soon.
With this recent history and our November 4 victories as prelude, let's look to the future and make a strategic Cabinet choice.
If Barack Obama and Congress deliver on their promises (and we should make sure they do by keeping the pressure on them in the coming months), we should see a second term and an expanded Democratic majority in both houses. But after Obama, who? That's where I see a strategic Cabinet pick might help.
In choosing his Cabinet, Obama could set us up for a Democratic Era, and set up his chosen successor, by putting them in a key Cabinet position. And with Joe Biden on board, I think that idea could be taken one step further. Here's the idea:
- Joe Biden serves as VP for the first Obama term, and Obama puts his favored successor into a key, high-profile Cabinet position. I say it's Secretary of State, given the importance of foreign affairs, its relationship to national security, etc. [I also like Secretary of State because I think it would work for Biden in the next step...]
- For the second Obama term, Biden steps down and switches roles with the SoS from the first Obama term (a position Biden would likely relish, getting him out of the White House and into the field), meaning that...
- The SoS from the first Obama term runs as VP in the second Obama term, and becomes Obama's successor in 2016.
- The successor gets international (read: security, economic/trade and national defense) experience and visibility in the first term, and adds relevant executive experience to their resume in the second term.
I know Obama and Biden could just as well do this mid-term (either during the first or second term), but the confirmation of the VP requires a majority (simple) of both Houses (25th Amendment), and that might appear a little too "inside"... better, I think, to make the change in an election, so it was ratified by the people.
Now let's see how that would look...
I'm not proposing anyone in particular for this switcheroo, although I think it should be someone closer to Obama's age than Biden/Hillary/et al. I think both Hillary and Biden will be too old to run in 2016 (Barack's election represents a move to the post-boomer generation), the torch having been passed. But you get the idea.
So, do you think Obama should or will be contemplating this as he fills his Cabinet? (See the poll.) And if you do, who do you think Obama should pick as a possible successor, and which Cabinet position would you put them in? (Your suggestions for SoS in the comments, please!)