After passing over his vanquished Democratic rival for secretary of state, President-elect Barack Obama is ready to name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his choice for commerce secretary. According to Democratic officials, the two would appear at a news conference together in Chicago on Wednesday.
It has been a well-known “secret” that Richardson would be named to the top commerce post for several weeks.
Richard son is one of the nation’s most prominent Hispanic Politicians. He will be another in what is now a line of former Democratic opponents to be selected to join Obama’s Cabinet. Another adversary now-turned-ally, Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been chosen by the President-elect to be his secretary of state. Former rival Joe Biden was also chosen by Obama to be his vice presidential running mate.
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, a Democrat will become the state’s first female governor when Richardson leaves to assume his new post. New Mexico’s governor to be, Denish, will take over for the remainder of Richardson’s term, which runs through 2010.
However, things will turn out a bit different in Arizona. Governor Janet Napolitano’s move to Obama’s Cabinet as Secretary of Homeland Security will put the state in the hands of a Republican governor. Under Arizona state law, a Republican, Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer, will assume the reins there.
President-elect Barack Obama has been decisive and has moved quickly to fill out his Cabinet, having named more than half of the people in the month since he was elected the country’s 44th president. It seems the President-to-be is adamant about “hitting the ground running.”
Bill Richardson was an energy secretary and United Nations ambassador in President Bill Clinton’s administration. Up until very recently, Richardson was a contender for the State Department job, but after choosing Hillary Clinton as his top diplomat, Obama offered him the post as commerce secretary.
After having sought the Democratic nomination this year, Richardson eventually dropped out and endorsed Obama.
Obama announced his foreign and national security team on Monday, which is led by Clinton and current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican. Obama named his economic team, led by Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary, a week ago. He plans to announce former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as health and human services secretary in the coming weeks if not days. The top posts in his Cabinet are now in place.
There are still posts to be disclosed; among those are: the heads of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, the Interior, Transportation, Labor and Energy departments. Also, the next President of the United States, Barack Obama, has yet to name his intelligence team, including his director of national intelligence and CIA chief. If he continues at the same frenetic pace, his cabinet will be in place before the Christmas break.
At TicosLand.com and in Costa Rica, Barack Obama is being perceived as astute and decisive in choosing his cabinet and in doing so in such a rapid and influential manner. We are sure that people are over the world are taking his measure, and he is not leaving them wanting.
Tags: Barack Obama, bill richardson, cabinet, commerce secretary, Costa Rica, secretary of commerce, secretary of state
